Gemstone 9 Part I
by goldenpurple
Summary: Mix summer, a runaway dragon, an unnatural death, an evil executive, magic and lots of trouble together to equal pure insanity! Join the J-Team as they're up for an all-out war against the dark force known as ZIK, all to find 9 mystical gemstones spread across the Earth. The worst hits when our heroes realize they must put all the unknown pieces together to survive...
1. Chapter 1

It had been three months since Drago, Shendu and his talismans were banished to the Demon Netherworld. There was a lot of damage done in San Francisco, but luckily Section 13 was willing to rebuild it all. In those five months, the Ice Crew were tried for their crimes and sentenced for ten years in prison. For those five months, there had been no crimes dealing with magic. This was good news to Jackie Chan, Captain Black, Uncle, and Tohru. To them, the world was in balance once more. To Jade Chan, it was pure boredom. But lucky for her, that day was a rather exciting day for the preteen. It was the last day of school for the summer.

"Today is the last day of school! I thought school would never end!" Jade exclaimed as she arrived through the gates of school. Kids were all over in the hallway, talking, playing, teasing one other. The things children her age would do on the last day of school.

_After today, three whole months of summer await for me. Too bad Drago and Shendu got sent back to the Demon Netherworld. Now I'm going to be bored_, Jade sadly sighed. Even though magic interfered in her life for years, she never got tired of having fun with her uncle Jackie.

"Remember when that meteor shower hit the city sometime back?" a kid asked the kids around him. In response, everyone who had heard the question gasped, all trying to say their piece at the same time.

"Oh yeah! That was freaky!" one kid admitted.

"I was scared to death!" another said

"I seen shootings stars, but not meteors!" Jade's friend Jimmy admitted. Thanks to Jade's help, he wasn't bullied again after his little 'field trip' with Jade into the future.

"I didn't hear it. I was watching TV."

"My parents woke me up in the middle of the night so they could keep us in the basement until it was over. Kinda wished I saw it though."

"I was a little scared, but I didn't cry. Instead, I hid in the basement of our house with my mom and dad and baby sister until the meteor shower stopped," one kid bragged. Jade knew that lying voice was none other than Drew, the kid who was most notorious in the school for picking on Jade. He picked on the Chinese girl for her magical adventures constantly. He noticed Jade in the back with a scowl on her face.

"Yeah right. I bet you were bawling your eyes out and wetting your pants," Jade called Drew's bluff with a roll of her eyes and crossed arms over her chest.

"Actually I didn't. What about you Jade? Did you get your shadowkhan to fight the meteors off with the super speed rooster?" Drew mocked. His peers laughed as Drew pretended to do Kung Fu.

"It's super speed _rabbit_, genius!" Jade retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"What does it matter? It's all the same magic," Drew answered.

"Which you believed that one time!"

"That was just a hallucination! A stupid daydream," Drew blew off the old memory. Ever since he saw a flying moose out the window and magic animals run amuck at the science fair, Drew refused to believe that it was magic. "I was pretty sure I was hallucinating. But you sure have the perfect memory."

Jade's fist curled into a ball as her anger grew. The Chinese girl could feel her ears getting hot as the kids around her pointed and laughed. She had hoped no one would mess with her today.

_I guess you can't always get what you want_, Jade sighed as the bell rang. Students quickly looked up at the ringing bell, then darted off inside the school, running around frantically into their classes so they wouldn't be marked tardy. Usually Jade got a tardy every week or two. This time was different. Before Ms. Hartman closed the door, Jade managed to sneak in and sit at her desk, which unfortunately was beside Drew.

"Good morning class," Ms. Hartman opened up with her wide welcome.

"Good morning Ms. Hartman!" her students replied back.

"Today is your last day of school. Since you all have done well on your behavior this year..."

"Everyone except Jade," Drew coughed out. There was a chuckle or three coming from the back of the classroom. Ms. Hartman gave everyone, mainly Drew, a hard stare, which made them stop talking.

"Since you all have done well this year, I am giving you permission to watch a movie and have a little party in the meantime. I'll pass out work and some projects that I have taken and graded and give them back to you. If you have a bad grade, there is good chance that you will have to redo them by the time you leave. Maybe it can bring up some of your grades," the teacher kindly suggested. She opened her desk, took out a pack of papers and started passing them out to the students. The kids cheered, which was followed by eager and loud chatter.

"Wait. You're actually not letting us do work for once?" Jade turned to her teacher.

"Well of course. After that field trip disaster a few months back, I've decided to change things up a bit. Like I told you before, kids like you are my favorite passion," Ms. Hartman gave her handed Jade a piece of paper with a bright red "A" on it. Jade picked up the paper and gasped.

"Yes!" Jade made a little fist pump to her side. She looked over at Drew, who was horrified. He was just given a black ink "F" on his paper.

"Since you have plenty of time to make this paper up before you leave for the summer, I suggest you start now," the teacher pointed to the paper. Drew groaned and slumped his head onto his desk.

"Aww man..."

_Today does feel a little better_, Jade thought, snickering at Drew's bad grade.

* * *

"Do you want to try a glazed donut?" Aunt Eva offered a glazed donut to Delya. The demon shook her head.

"No thanks. I like chocolate."

"Delya, you have bad tastes in donuts. Glazed are number one because they're the most common!"

"So you're saying that everyone likes glazed donuts? Yeah right," Delya denied with a giggle.

"Believe me; the first kind of something new is usually the best!" Aunti declared, finishing a donut. Delya and Aunti decided to take a walk around San Francisco. Summer was coming and since there was no air conditioning in the substitute Section 13, it was very hot. The two women could care less about the heat.

"What's even better is having a cold cup of milk with the donut," Delya suggested.

Eva laughed. "Now **that's** a combination I can live with."

Delya stopped walking to take a good look at what was around her. She took in a deep breath through her nose and smiled with a happy sigh. "It's good to know that San Francisco is back to its normal state. It's summer, it's hot and nice and I don't have to worry about anything except chillaxing. You know, chilling and relaxing put together?" she nudged her aunt.

"Oh yeah. Being outside is good. Staying in the hospital was something I just could not stand at all. It was constantly cold, the food was bad, I felt lost. It was terrible," the elder shivered.

"Yeah, I saw some of it. It didn't seem that bad."

"Trust me on this one. It was," Aunt Eva said.

"Honestly, I feel so much better after the whole Drago-taking-over-the-world incident," Delya quoted. To her, it was like a heavy weight was lifted off of her chest.

"For one thing, I'm glad he's gone. He put me in the hospital just so I wouldn't tell you the truth. What a schemer!"

"Yeah, even when he said it was an accident. I doubt that," the demon dame flipped her way. "He got the karma that was coming to him, and that was being sent to the Demon Nether on a one-way ticket. It'd good to be free!"

Aunti and Delya stopped walking, for they had reached a crosswalk. Many cars passed by before the light finally hit red.

"It actually feels nice for there not to be any magic going on that deals with us for once," Delya smiled again.

"I'm not so sure about that. You know how Uncle had said about a stronger evil always taking the place of another evil. But you are right. The world is at balance for now," Aunti hooked arms with her niece. "Even if there was any problem, my Delya is there to be my protector."

"You got that right. I don't know what I'd do without you! If you didn't take me in when you did, I could've been halfway across the world getting myself into trouble like Drago. In fact, I wouldn't even be here."

"Speaking of the world," Aunt Eva began thoughtfully. "I was looking up little charm shops across the world and I've found some couples of places in Florida..."

"We're going to Florida?" Delya's eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

"Delya, you know we can't stay with the Chan family and Section 13 anymore. I only wanted to visit San Francisco for awhile before Drago came, but because of him, trying to get you back and to stop Drago, I've had to stay. Now that the problem is over, I was thinking we could move to some other warm place. Then maybe after a year or two of living there we'll go somewhere else, like France."

"That's great! Did you find a house yet?" Delya asked. Unlike others who would be sad among moving, Delya was actually happy to hear the news. She was no stranger to the idea.

"No, I'm still deciding. There is this one old, small charm shop that will fit just the two of us. There's also three nice but small bedrooms, two in a half bathroom with a secret passageway," Aunt Eva rubbed her hands together excitedly.

"A secret passageway? Those still exist?" Delya raised her brow.

"Well of course. Just in case something tragic happens in our house, we can hide there and find a way to get outside without harm."

"Hmm, that's pretty impressive," The demon cupped her chin thoughtfully.

"You know our current house has some too, right?"

"Really? Where? And you didn't tell me?" Delya whined.

"I just found out. When you go upstairs to the study room, behind the built in bookcase there's a trapdoor that has a room inside. That is where I keep some of the important things, like ingredients for magic, emergency food etc."

"What?! How is there something like that that I missed? I catch _everything_ in the house!"

"Not this one," Aunti made a clever smirk as she blindly crashed into a wall of black. Her pack of donuts fell along with her.

"Ow!" she moved back holding her head.

"Excuse me," the seeming black wall said with a step out of the way of the elder lady.

"Oh! Sorry," Aunti apologized. She quickly picked up her sack of donuts. The man Aunti bumped into turned around, seemingly annoyed.

"My aunt didn't mean to bump into you," Delya quickly apologized, patting the man's fresh suit. "She's so sorry, sir."

When Aunti looked up, the African's face went from an apologetic smile to a deep frown. She dusted herself off with a haughty turn of her nose.

"Maybe I should've bumped into him on purpose," she muttered under her breath.

Delya nudged her aunt in the ribs, making her stop talking. "Don't mind her. I'm Delya, and this is my aunt Evangeline or Eva for short."

"I see," the man's face smirked as he held out his hand for Evangeline to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, **Evangeline**."

The woman suspiciously eyed the hand of the man before tightly crossing her arms with another turn of her head. "It's not a pleasure for me."

"Hey!" Delya scolded with another nudge in her aunt's ribs. "Be nice to the stranger you bumped into!"

"Well, I don't like him," the woman shrugged.

"How can you say that if you barely know the guy?" Delya tried to reason with her elder. "You could at least try and be sincere."

_If Kimikaz is here, then he must be here for something serious_, the thought ran through Aunti's head as Kimikaz began to speak. He turned his hand for Delya to shake, which she did gladly.

"My name is Kimikaz."

Delya's mouth dropped open and started to laugh. "No way! Kimikaz as in the guy on TV?! The super rich Kimikaz?!" Delya's eyes almost bugged from her head. "I didn't even realize it's you!"

"There's no other," the businessman laughed.

"Omigosh we're so sorry for bumping into you! I swear it!" a suddenly hyperactive Delya squealed. Evangeline shook her head in disgust at the sight.

"Again, it's no trouble," Kimikaz waved it off. Because of the sunlight, Delya's eyes shifted towards a golden business card that was lying on the ground. It read 'Golden Rainbow'.

"'Golden Rainbow'?" the demon dame read as she picked it up. She put it in Kimikaz's suit pocket.

"It's my business card. I'm the president of a charity," Kimikaz explained.

_This guy must have a lot of money to do fancy things like this_, Delya thought as Aunti grabbed a chunk of her hair.

"Yowch!"

"Delya, we are leaving," Eva huffed as she began to pull Delya away from the philanthropist.

"But-"

"You can talk to Kimikaz when I'm not here," she growled. "I can't stand to looking this guy."

"But I've never talked to a celebrity before!" the young woman whined.

"I don't care!" Aunti growled. She marched Delya away from the confused Kimikaz until they were behind a corner of a street.

"What's wrong with you? Who said you should introduce yourselves to strangers like that?!" Aunti crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Technically, he's not a stranger. Kimikaz is a very nice and well-know philanthropist for his charities. What's wrong with you? You were so cheerful one minute and the next you're angry. What happened to the good day we were having?" the young woman let go of Aunti's hand. "And who said you could grab my hair like that?! That really hurt!"

"I don't like that man."

"Why not? He's so nice. Everyone I've heard talk about him like that in a good way. He's, like, a good example for little kids and stuff," Delya tried to argue. She knew that with her aunt's current attitude, she wouldn't listen to any of it.

"Delilah, what you see is different that what you hear. That's why you never judge a book by its cover," Aunti said as she picked out the little pieces of Delya's hair from her fingers.

"Yeah, well **I** don't see anything wrong about him."

"So if that was actually Drago, _then_ what would you say?" the elder looked up to the young woman with sorrow-filled eyes. That hit Delya hard, feeling like two tons of hurtful emotions had knocked her down. Her eyes bugged out of her head before narrowing them at her aunt.

"Drago and Kimikaz are two **COMPLETELY DIFFERENT** people. Kimikaz is rich, nice, gives to charities and is a celebrity. Drago is rude, has daddy issues, is aggressive and a complete lunatic. I'd take Kimikaz over Drago any day. I mean, it's pretty simple who the sane one actually is."

"Is that so?" Eva asked with strong confidence, defiantly crossing her arms over her chest. Delya has noticed the hurt look in her elder's face, but didn't want to shed too much light on it. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she shrugged, not being able to respond in words. Aunti's hard stare softened, turning into a face of hurt. She slowly walked off, with Delya a few yards behind.

"Don't worry, Delilah. One day, you'll be able to remove the wool from your eyes," Aunti tiredly sighed.

* * *

Kimikaz sat down at his desk and set his suitcase down on his table. Usually on a hot day, the man would want to go home, sit down and take a well-deserved nap. Who he had seen on the streets made up attitude perky and happy. This was the first time Kimikaz had genuinely smiled at someone in the whole week he was working and he had the perfect reason as to doing so.

"Evangeline is **here**? In **San Francisco** of all places? And with a new face who happens to be her niece," the philanthropist chuckled. He set himself down in his chair and took in a deep breath. "I'm not sure if this could ruin or help everything. It could be both," Kimikaz put his stuff down by his desk and sat down. He slowly massaged the bridged of his nose. "The last time I saw Eva, she was doing magic. That Delya girl might be doing the same thing." He pressed a black button at the right corner of his desk.

"Mister Kim?" a lady said into the built-in intercom.

"Taylor, bring me Tân for a quick moment. Tell him it's rather urgent," the businessman softly ordered.

"Yes sir." With that, the quick call ended there. Minutes later, a man with a thin and lengthy goatee entered the room. On his head, he wore a small, black turban that was able to cover his bald head. The man wore a red, traditional áo dài with the golden print of a dragon imprinted on it. Underneath the traditional tunic the man had black, wide-legged pants that complimented his clothes.

"I see you've called for me?" The man's accent was aged, but hauntingly smooth.

"We might need to have a slight change of plans," Kimikaz said.

"Change of plans? I've already got everything settled!" Tân narrowed his eyes. "I don't think it's possible to change now. Explain yourself."

"Do you remember the woman Evangeline?" The CEO tiredly wiped his cheek.

"What about her?"

"She's here and she has niece who's probably packing some chi magic. I know Eva will try and stop me in finding those gemstones. Isn't there anything you can do to speed up the process?" Kimikaz pleaded. Tân took the left half of his mustache and stroke it lightly.

"There is one way...but I'll have to look into the idea further."

""Well, times a-wasting! Every minute that passes, I feel as if Evangeline is plotting against me. Not that I can blame her," the businessman straightened out his suit and tie. It was a habit he had picked up whenever he was feeling nervous or embarrassed.

"All right, all right. I will decide on what would best fit this emergency situation. You said this was a partnership between us, no?" said Tân.

"Do what you need to, just please do something quick," Kimikaz apologized. He rolled back his hair and took in a deep breath. Tân turned around and left the room silently. He turned around and walked out the room and quietly closed the door.

"I wonder if demon summoning will help," the dark wizard played with his hair thoughtfully.

* * *

"The last day of Jade's school year has arrived. No more conferences, no more phone calls and most of all no more of Jade getting in trouble at school," Jackie laid back in a chair. He was in the kitchen of Uncles antique shop eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tohru was baking cookies and Uncle was preparing himself tea.

"Wouldn't that mean Jade will get in trouble at home?" Tohru added. Jackie slightly frowned at the thought. He forcefully moved the idea out of his head.

"Jade always get into trouble! Rushing into things without thinking, which is what you do!" Uncle accused and pointed at Jackie. "_You_ are reason why Jade is who she is today."

"Uncle, the only reason I fight is to defend myself—ow!"

"So you think it's okay for Jade to fight and get herself in trouble constantly?!" Uncle huffed with a shake of his head.

"At least she did not get seriously hurt, Uncle," Tohru placed his hand on his fellow wizard's shoulder. This made Uncle calm down some.

"From this summer forward, we won't have to worry about magic forces of darkness or whatever. It'll be back to having a normal life for me," Jackie sighed happily. His face went funny as the archaeologist went deep into thought. "But it's funny how all the magic trouble started the day Jade arrived here."

"I agree. It seemed suspicious from the beginning," Tohru rubbed his chin.

"Even though Uncle hasn't suspected any dark magic around, there will always be a stronger evil to take Drago's place as it was for Tarakudo, Daolon Wong, Shendu and his demon brethren. Even so, Uncle needs a break every once in a while! Traveling from place to place gets tiring!" Uncle said with a relief as he poured hot steaming tea into his teacup. Jackie's cell phone rang, vibrating wildly in his pocket.

"Sorry. Have to take this," he smiled as he answered his phone. "Hello?"

"It's Captain Black. How's everything?" the captain of Section 13 responded.

"Fine. And you?"

"So far so good. I've just gotten some news on the Ice Crew."

"Oh really?" Jackie asked loudly. Uncle and Tohru gave him funny looks that said are you crazy?

"Sorry. I will be back," Jackie nervously chuckled. He got up and excused himself out the back door, which led to a garbage alley.

"Hello? Jackie are you still there?" the bald captain asked loudly.

"I'm here. What is it?"

"I've gotten news that the Ice Crew have finally been convicted and sent off to prison today."

"Prison? I thought it was juvenile for them," Jackie stared up at the sky. It was a pretty sky blue. Nothing was in the sky except for the hot sun.

"Two of of the three boys are younger than eighteen, but still the law chose to send them there," Black informed.

"They _do_ deserve it for their past crimes, so it wouldn't be too much of a surprise. What I always wondered about was whatever happened to the Enforcers and Hak Foo? I remember seeing them in the battle with the Ice Crew and Drago before almost being devoured by a demon spirit," the archaeologist rubbed the back of his neck at the memory.

"Those four? They work as secret agents in Section 13. When you weren't around, they came in my office and begged me to take them in again. I didn't want to fall for the trick they used last time. They told me they got tired of getting their butts kicked so they've decided to start doing the butt-kicking," Captain Black said as he monitored construction workers building the walls. "Turns out that they were right this time. I guess they've really changed. They're not always actively working at Section 13, but they report in from time to time."

"That's great...I guess. I just hope they don't go back to their old tricks again. Having to fight them all the time gets tiring after awhile," Jackie smiled at the news. "Having to fight evil in all is tiring."

"Same for me, provided my job and my superiors in Washington. They finally stopped bugging me about seeing a doctor on the 'M' word," the captain quoted. Every since the first time he had mentioned that, his superiors and even the mayor had suspected that Captain Black was slowly going crazy from working on his job for too long.

"That's good news. I'm surprised I haven't seen a doctor yet after seeing all the 'M' word occurrences," the archaeologist warmly chuckled. The earned a laugh from Black from the other end of the phone.

"So how's the new Section 13 coming along?"

"By the end of the summer, the new Section 13 should be up be up. The workers are working pretty fast at it comparing to time," Black looked around his new surroundings. He liked what he was seeing, but it would take him awhile to get used to it all.

"Speaking of time, what time is it?" Jackie turned to face inside.

Captain Black took a quick glance at his watch on his right wrist before saying, "2:25."

"Oh! I better go! Jade's bus is supposed to come sometime around now," Jackie called out. He hit "End" and went back inside to Uncle's shop through the back door.

"Who was that?" Uncle called from the library. He was deep in a large book, reading away. He didn't bother to look up once.

"Captain Black. It was just business as usual," Jackie called over his shoulder. He opened the front door. "I'll be outside waiting for Jade's bus just in case you need me!"

Uncle nodded to his nephew, then turning back to the book research he was reading. The page he was reading had a picture of nine gems about the text: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, black and white. Besides the jewels had its names all in black print.

_The Gems of Samuel Akin the Irish. These jewels were the same one in my recent dreams_, the old Chinese man thought as he flipped to the next page. In-between the words, there was a little picture of what looked like Lo Pei and two soldiers arresting someone.

"He must be Samuel," Uncle fixed his glasses on the fine print.

"'Samuel was arrested for collaborating with Shendu and other demons and dark chi wizards. Before he was escorted to prison, Samuel used protection spell in native Irish Gaelic so that no one could use the gems. Since no one knew about language, no one bothered to try and decipher spell'," Uncle read as he quickly shut the book and putting it on a nearest shelf.

"Uncle hopes it's not what he thinks it is," the elder wizard contemplated as he stepped out from his study.

**A/N: This is all I have for now. This chapter seemed kinda awkward for me but the next chapters will be better.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Finally we're home!" Delya exclaimed, walking into her house. Aunti followed behind her and set down the half-eaten bag of donuts on a table. Right after Drago's failed attempt to take over the world, Aunti had purchased a nice but medium-sized house that was somewhere from thirty minutes to one hour to Section 13. Due to the extra guest rooms, it was nice and a little big for two people, but it was enough for them.

"I thought I'd never get home," the young demon stretched out her limbs near the door. Delya made her move to a green, three seated sofa in a relaxed position. She noticed Aunti, who looked more tired than ever. She almost looked like a blood-thirsty zombie.

"Where are you going?"

Aunti threw her hair band beside her sack on donuts and took off her shawl. The piece of clothing landed on top of the couch Delya laid on. "I'm going to bed," Aunti groaned. Down the hall and just around the corner the African woman walked into her room and jumped in bed.

"But it's only the middle of the day," Delya mentally rolled her eyes. She grabbed a remote and pressed the 'Power' button. The small TV turned on. It channeled to a white female news reporter speaking into a small microphone.

"Currently, I am standing in front of Kimikaz's company 'Golden Rainbow', which is his international charity company. This is where he and his chairmen decided on where in the world to be generous to poverty. Here he is coming out of his office!" The female reporter almost shrieked as Johnny stepped out of his office. He looked very calm as paparazzi and many news reporters ran forward, asking him questions and flashing him with many cameras. The businessman was being smothered in every direction, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

_Kimikaz is now on TV? But we just met him on the sidewalk. Maybe the reason he got mad at us because he was running late for something,_ Delya contemplated, playing with her purple-streaked hair.

"Kimikaz! Kimikaz over here!" Olivia was wild trying to get the businessman's attention. To keep from people grabbing at him, Johnny had a dozen bodyguards guarding him.

"Kimikaz, over here! I have a question for you from FOX 5 news!" Olivia raised her voice over the calamity. As if the man had supersonic hearing he split the crowd, took the woman's hand and kissed it lightly. Olivia giggled and smoothed back her hair.

"I see you have a question for me, Ms. Linden," Kimikaz smiled grandly.

"Oh! Right! What was I about to ask...oh yeah! Rumor has been going around that you have big plans this summer for Central America! Is this true?" The news reporter handed her microphone to him.

"I was thinking Central America _and_ the Indonesian Islands underneath the Asian continent. I haven't noticed those small islands until some few weeks back. Don't worry. After this summer, the people living there will be happy for quite awhile."

The executive bowed to Olivia (who was still giggling like a little girl) before leaving. He stepped in his limousine and rolled down the window, waving to his many fans. The limo driver drove off down the street. The paparazzi and news people waved to back to the businessman's car.

"Can you please turn the TV off? Thank you so much," Aunti called out from her room.

"Ugh, fine," Delya turned off the TV. Without skipping a beat, Delya headed upstairs to her own room. There were colorful keys on her nightstand which Delya picked up, making a loud rattling sound. Aunti, who was desperately trying to sleep in her room, turned to look at the door.

"Where are you going?" Aunt Eva asked.

"Section 13. I'm going to hang out with Jackie and them."

Eva sat up in her bed with a concerned gaze at her niece. "How are you going to get in Section 13 if you don't know where or how to get in?"

From Delya's pocket, she pulled out a small piece of rolled up paper and showed it off to her aunt with a mischievous smile on her face. "I picked this up from Black's office the other day. Surely he won't mind if I test the system out for him early."

"Okay, just be back before 8:00!" Aunti hollered, sinking back into the world of sleep.

"I'll be back before 9!" Delya voice bellowed as she shut the door. As soon as she heard the door close, Aunti got up and began packing some clothes from her drawers and threw them in a luggage bag.

"If Kimikaz is here, I am leaving."

* * *

"Hello?"

"Tân, are you there?" the businessman asked.

"Who'd you expect calling this number, the Queen of England?" a sarcastic Tân replied, a low snicker followed. Kimikaz let out a soft growl in response. He wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Oh, calm down. It was just a joke."

"Well, it wasn't funny!" Kimikaz rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I have most of the ingredients for the demon summoning," the wizard got serious.

"Most of the ingredients?"

"Don't worry about it. Jun and Lola are taking care of the rest. You just need to come to ZIK as soon as possible."

The millionaire raised his eyebrow at what his partner said. He was ready to go home for the day, not to come back and do more business. "Now? Why now?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"That's when everyone is sleeping! Mainly me!" the millionaire face palmed. He hated losing sleep because that meant it would be harder for him to focus in his work the next day.

"Would you rather have to summoning during the daytime, where you can be exposed for what you really are?" Tân questioned. Kimikaz massaged the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"I hope this isn't a threat," Kimikaz's anger grew.

"Oh no. I'm just telling the truth. As they say, the truth shall set you free," Tân chuckled. The phone call ended there and Johnny quickly shoved his cell phone into his shirt pocket.

"I guess that's the price I get for being in the businessman," Kimikaz said, feeling like he was sinking lower and lower in his seat. He looked calm on the outside staring out the window. On the inside he was a nervous train wreck. That was also something Kimikaz had to constantly live with doing his job.

"Since Evangeline here, then I hope she and her niece won't be here to stop me. This is already getting out of hand." From the back of his seat, he pulled out a phone book and quickly flipped through some pages.

"Where, where, where..." he mumbled. Kimikaz turned five more pages before seeing what he wanted to see. His face had lit up seeing what he had discovered.

"Fantastic. Timothy, don't take me home. In fact, take me to the docks pronto."

Timothy confusedly shook his head at his boss, looking up at the mirror. "You don't want to go home, sir?"

"No. Take me to the bay area. I have some business I need to do there before we can head over to ZIK."

* * *

"I can't wait to get out of school! I'm gonna lose five pounds this summer!" Jade said excitedly. She was on the bus sitting with Simone Magus (remember that episode with Spring-Heeled Jack?) and Jimmy was sitting alone across the aisle.

"Aren't you too young to lose weight?" Simone asked.

"No, no. That's not what I meant. When I come home, my seven pound bag will be off my shoulders for three months. So technically, I lost five pounds," Jade explained. She let her friends feel her heavy book bag.

"Then I'll lose five pounds from my book bag too," Simone let her bag drop. It made a dull thud on the floor of the dirty bus.

"All that food that we had in Ms. Hartman's class combined with lunch made me gain five pounds _without_ a book bag," Jimmy rubbed his tummy.

"I'll kinda miss the bus. Even though it was small, we had to sit three in a seat at times and how smelly and dirty it got, we had a lot of good times here," the boy patted his seat.

"Don't forget about how wet it got whenever it rained."

"The reason why I didn't like the bus was because certain people annoyed me," Jade crossed her arms. Mainly she was indicating Drew, who was a few seats in front of her. He didn't hear her, for he was in his own world out the window.

"I barely ride the bus. My momma takes me home," Simone shrugged. She looked outside the window past Jade. "Hey, isn't that your bus stop?" She pointed out the window. Jade snapped her attention to see Jackie, who was standing outside of Uncle's shop. When he saw the bus, Jackie immediately stood up and tried to peek through the windows. When he saw his niece waving at him, he smiled and waved back.

"Well, this is it. The last time I'll probably be seeing you guys for the summer. I had lot of fun. Really," Jade declared to the kids of the bus. Some clapped but most just watched Jade threw her backpack on her shoulders.

"Bye Simone, bye Jimmy," Jade waved at them. Her friends enthusiastically waved back. She took two steps down the aisle but stopped at Drew's seat. He was sitting along and on the inside, staring at the window.

"Bye Drew." Drew snapped his head toward Jade. It was awhile before the boy responded.

"Yeah...see ya," he nodded her off. Jade gave him a little salute, awkwardly shuffling off the bus. Simone waved out the window with Jimmy and some other of Jade's classmates.

"Bye Jade!"

"See you Jade!"

"Until next year!"

"I'll actually miss your crazy stories, ninja girl!" a boy teased in the front seat teased. His friends behind laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. The other kids either glared at them or ignored the insult. Jade glared but kept her polite wave to everyone who waved back.

"Bye guys! See you next year!" Jade said back to them as the yellow bus rolled on around the corner. That was the last time she would see that bus for the summer and Jade knew it too. The Chinese girl was hoping she wouldn't see anything school related for a while.

"I was wondering when you'd return," Jackie said, opening his arms for a hug.

"Tch! And I was wondering when I would get home! The last day of school usually takes the longest!" Jade said as her hug knocked Jackie to the ground. "It was so fun at school today! Ms. Hartman handed out pizza and soda, we watched a movie, Drew had to redo an assignment—!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Er, never mind," Jade shook her head. she freed herself from her uncle's embrace and ran inside Uncle's shop.

"The Cunning One has arrived!" Jade yelled. Her voice slightly echoed throughout the house. "So what's up?"

"Nothing except for chocolate chip cookies," Tohru called from the kitchen.

"Maybe later. Full from school lunch," Jade rubbed her tummy. She turned to Jackie standing behind her. "So is there going to be any action this summer or what?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Don't you remember the ancient magical artifacts? Kicking any butt? Traveling to far away exotic and ancient places?"

Jackie cupped his chin and acted like he was thinking. The Chinese man chuckled a little. "Not this summer. I think for the first time in a couple of years, there will be some peace and quiet," Jackie walked over to the kitchen and said to Tohru," I'll take a chocolate chip cookie thank you."

Jade's jaw dropped and body went slack. She felt like falling to the floor. "What did you say?"

"I said I doubt there will be any problem this summer with magic or anything. It's done—over! It'll just be back to archaeological business for me!" Jackie threw his hands in the air happily.

"You mean I went through all the trouble of trying to get out of school all for me to sit around and do nothing all summer long? Really?" Jade whined.

"Don't you get tired of action constantly? Tohru, Uncle and I have. Same for Section 13 and Captain Black. We've been through a lot. Don't you want to rest? Sit back and relax?" Jackie knelt to the floor to level with his niece.

"Well yeah, but I don't want it to be _completely_ boring. **Some**body has to step out of line!" Jade whined. "Where's Uncle to confirm this?"

"Uncle is not to be disturbed!" he called from the library. Jade practically ran in and threw herself at Uncle's feet.

"Please tell me what Uncle Jackie says is not true! Tell me there's going to be some evil out there that we have to stop!" Jade tugged at Uncle's vest jacket. "Daolon Wong returns for revenge? One of the Demon Sorcerers secretly escaped? Some evil guy out there trying to collect magical stuff to take over the world or something?"

Uncle flinched at the last question, giving Jade a cautious and worrisome look. From there, he turned back into his sour face. "Uncle said he is busy right now! When he is good and ready, he will come," Uncle said, pushing Jade out the library. "Want fun? Clean room." He shut the door in Jade's face.

"Aww!"

Jackie heavily sighed and walked into the kitchen. "She never listens," he said to himself as he gently massaged his temples.

* * *

"I'm so sick of this shit!" Drago exclaimed in the demon void. He sat on a large rock, far away from the rest of his demon dysfunctional family. It had been quiet for awhile since Drago was banished to the Demon Netherworld. It was three months since Drago was banished, but to him it felt like three years. Ever since he had first met his family, the dragon vowed to stay far away from them as possible. Every time the son of Shendu interacted with his family members, someone was always causing trouble and it wasn't always him.

_"The Earth was within my grasp! You never let me have what I want!" Drago whined to his father._

_"I _told_ you not to play with your **father's world**!" Shendu screeched._

_"_**Why not**_?! You weren't using it! You're always to busy fighting wizards!"_

_"It's not my fault I was trying to protect you from certain death!"_

_"Maybe if you had given me more time, I would have released you! B__ut _no_! You always ruin everything! And my plan was actually going to work if you didn't get in my way like you always do!"_

_"Agh! Stop with the arguments! If I have to listen to you two squabble constantly, I will become deaf," Hsi Wu's angry voice intervened._

_"If _**I**_ have to listen to you two squabble, I'll make both your imprisonments here a living nightmare," Tchang Zu followed with hands filled with yellow and blue lightning. Surrounding the two dragons were Shendu's brothers and sisters and they did not look very happy to see him or Drago._

_"Well, well, well. Brother Shendu has returned. So how was it like on Earth,_ without us_?" Tso Lan asked with a vicious edge. Shendu pushed his offspring away from him to fully face his brother._

_"Well you see-"_

_"And who's that half-breed you have with you?" Dai Gui stormed in with his questions, pointing an accusing finger at Drago. "Don't tell Dai Gui you're Shendu's son."_

_Drago pointed a finger to his chest and wore a surprised and threatening face. "Are _you_ calling **me** a half-demon?"_

_"Why not? The only reason you got the demon chi was to make yourself more powerful than you really are. You wish to be like us but instead you are but an outcast. A half-human outcast at that," Hsi Wu smirked, perching himself on Po Kong's shoulder. Smoke poured from Drago's nose and mouth._

_"Who are you to judge me, you small bat?!" Drago growled. "I am a pure demon, just like you!"_

_"Sure you are..."_

_"Who do you think you are demeaning my son with such talk? If I recall correctly, He Xiangu distracted you in her human feminine ways as Han Xiangzi blew the magic flute," Shendu hissed. The demon family let out a raucous laugh._

_"Is that so?" a smug Drago crossed his arms. This earned snickers, laughs and guffaws from everyone. Hsi Wu clenched his fists angrily, his red demon eyes glowing brighter._

_"Oh yes. I remember telling Hsi Wu not to get involved with the human females. That's why I had to check on him everytime. But no! You wanted the 'female company', didn't you?" the thunder demon grunted. This gained even louder laughs._

_"That's not true! Even if it was, I didn't get distracted," the Sky demon crossed his arms. __"There was nothing about He Xiangu to see."_

_"Now _Dai Gui_ knows that's a lie!" the Earth Demon chuckled, which got more raucous laughs. "When you went to his domain, he saw you eyeing some of the women there. Don't lie."_

_"No one asked for your input, Brother Rocks-For-Brains!" the sky demon turned to his brother. "The last time you tried to get with a human, you didn't know you had buried the harlot alive until a week afterwards!"_

_"_**What was that**_?!" Dai Gui moved his rock closer to his younger brother. He threw some rather large rocks in Hsi Wu's direction, only for the Sky Demon to swiftly dodge all of them. _

_"Hmph. I told you Dai Gui would've done something like that," Po Kong mumbled, as she turned to Tso Lan. "And you doubted me."_

_Shendu loudly cleared his throat to the extent of fire almost erupting from his throat. The Fire Demon was trying to deliver his point across. "Last time Dai Gui has checked, you're still the youngest of us! Don't make Dai Gui come over there and squash you!"_

_"For your information Hsi Wu, Drago is a full demon. It's just that he hasn't...matured fast enough. And you've gone through the least of demon maturing, so you shouldn't be one to talk. All demons come in different shapes and sizes so keep your mouth quiet before I disembowel you!" Shendu threatened._

_"Great excuse Shendu...," Po Kong congratulated with sarcasm._

_"Yes, I like how everyone is talking around me as if I'm not here at all," Drago followed his aunt's sarcasm._

_"Quiet boy! I have the mother to blame for his lessened power _and_ size," the senior Fire demon sorcerer stroked his chin thoughtfully._

_"Speaking of power, who gave you the permission to go and seek out our demon chi?" Bai Tza asked with a raised eyebrow towards her nephew._

_"Sister Bai is right. Dai Gui wants his Earth chi back!" The Earth demon thundered._

_"As do I," Tchang Zu seconded that._

_"We _all_ want our chi back," Xiao Fung concluded._

_"Good luck trying to strip them all out. All eight demon powers are fused together and nothing can separate them," Drago crossed his arms in front of his large chest smugly._

_"Except for the fact that the original owners of the chi can take back what was once theirs, you fool!" Shendu yelled at his son, pointing to his brothers and sisters._

_"WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU SAID NO ONE COULD NEVER REMOVE THEM!" Drago roared back._

_"You actually trusted Shendu?" Xiao Fung shook his head. "Tsk, tsk. You should've known that Shendu is not always honest.__"_

_"'Like father, like son' the humans say," Po Kong chuckled. On the raised hands of her and her siblings, a dark purple aurora covered her hands. Drago caught himself floating upwards as the same purple aurora covered his body._

_"Hey! What are you doing?" the son of Shendu demanded._

_One by one, each demon chi was stripped from his body and his size shrunk. When it was finished, the Demon Sorcerer's used their magic to have Drago land on his feet. Instead, he was sprawled out on the rock, looking and acting a little bit like a corpse._

_"...T-That hurt," he stuttered, clutching his chest. "Bastards."_

_"Watch what you say nephew," Bai Tza's hair twitched as the Water demon narrowed her eyes at her nephew. "You just might get your tongue ripped out."_

_"He's much smaller than I expected him to be," Hsi Wu flew closed to look at his nephew._

_"Shendu pointed out, Brother Wu, that you're still shorter than Drago..." Tso Lan trailed off._

_"...Which means that you don't _have_ a reason to talk before I charbroil you into a pile of demon ash!" a double streams of fire came flew out from the nose of Drago. He was still weak, but he had enough energy to carry out his threat if he wanted to._

_The Wind demon chuckled. "A pity for your demon chi...and your ego."_

_The demons laughed even Shendu, who couldn't help but to laugh at his son._

_"I wonder where he got that from," Tso Lan added. Shendu stopped his laughing and glared at his brother as the other demons continued to snicker. Drago snorted and now joined his relatives' laughter._

_"Yes dear Uncle. I wonder where I got that tremendous ego from," he smirked. Shendu turned to him._

_"Silence or you'll get the beating of a lifetime!" his fist was held in the air. "I still have my talismans."_

_Drago put on a fierce and fearless face. "And that gives me a reason to be afraid of you? Pathetic."_

_"Why are you so harsh on your son Shendu?" Xiao Fung interrupted Shendu. The dragon narrowed his eyes at his water sibling as he let out a low growl._

_"You know_ **nothing**_ of parenting!"_

_"We don't have to. If we did, Drago would've been a better "full demon", as you claim," Po Kong pointed to Drago._

_"At least Drago got a chance to take over the world **and** managed to stay on Earth. He's been there much longer than we have," Tso Lan said. "He was practically born there."_

_"Humph," Tchang Zu frowned. "I still say he failed."_

_"If Drago was your child_—_oh, what am I saying? You wouldn't have had one. You would've killed the mother once you would've learned she was with child," Shendu sneered. The Thunder demon growled and threw a thunder bolt at the Fire Sorcerer._

_"AAAGGHHH!"_

_"I'm outta here," Drago said. Still injured from the chi removal spell, he slowly hopped from rock to rock away from the family meeting. Fortunately for him, everyone was busy ridiculing Shendu and arguing amongst themselves to see the dragon disappear._

"I can't believe I was so close to winning, to getting rid of Chan! For Delilah and I to rule together like it should have been...," he trailed off into thought. This was the first time Delya had entered his mind since his banishment.

"There is no way I'm staying here with my father and relatives. I'd rather suffer on Earth by Chan and his family than to suffer here with my family," Drago sighed. He picked up a smaller rock and threw it over his shoulder.

"If there was only a way to escape..."

**A/N: I thank Ginger Wolfsbane for the inspiration to write the Demon Netherworld part. It was from her story Drago Returns Remixed.**


	3. Chapter 3

"This should be the new Section 13," Delya said. She was standing in front of the alley that looked the same as before. Before the old Section 13 was destroyed, there was a red and small telephone booth; now there was a light blue and bigger telephone booth. On the doors of the booth had a sign in all capital letters reading "OUT OF ORDER".

"I thought I'd never make it," the demon fanned herself with her fingers as she jogged to the booth. She opened and closed the doors.

"Now what do I do next?" the demon scratched her head. From her back pants pocket, Delya picked a neatly folded piece of paper and unfolded it. "Pick up the phone and dial these numbers. From here you should be entered into the base."

"Okay, this shouldn't be hard. 2-8-4-0," Delya said punching the numbers in.

"Access accepted. Delilah," a steady woman's voice echoed inside the booth.

"Note to self: remind Black to change my code name. Can't believe he used my full name," Delya noted to herself with a hint of annoyance. The next thing Delya knew, the floor slid out from Delya's feet.

"What the—?! AAAHHH!"

This was the loudest scream Delya ever made in during the whole time she was alive. Every twist and turn of the descending tube made Delya's stomach do the same.

"I...don't..feel so...good!" it felt like her stomach climbed up and down her throat. After two minutes of more twisting and turning Delya was finally deposited in a cushion-filled rectangular box.

"I don't think I'll be able to recover from this. But at least Section 13 gained better security," the demon clutched her sick stomach. She stumbled out the room and fell on her butt.

"I see you used the new telephone booth," someone said, his shadow standing over Delya's fallen self. "It wasn't ready to be used yet."

"Oh! Captain Black! Sorry. That thing's like a roller-coaster!"

Capt. Black reached out his hand to help Delya up. "Yes, it's not bad. It was an upgrade along with more security being added. How did you get in anyway?" the bald man raised his eyebrow.

"I picked up a slip of paper from your office the other day," Delya smiled sheepishly.

"Wait—you weren't supposed to pick that up yet!"

"Again, sorry."

"It won't matter. Section 13 will be finished by the end of summer, if not later," Capt. Black said to Delya, who was watching construction workers fill a hole in a roof. "Jackie had just called. He said you were supposed to be here some thirty minutes ago."

"Oh yeah. Aunt Eva and I met the awesome celebrity Kimikaz on the street!" the demon fist-pumped.

"Kimikaz lives in San Francisco?" Black narrowed his eyes at the young woman.

"That's what I thought too, so yeah. I guess so. After that we went home, watched a little TV and got here. Took about thirty minutes," Delya said, pretending to wipe off her brow. "Jackie called for training, right?"

"He's not here yet, but he's coming shortly."

"Ugh, should've brought my train clothes. How could I forget?" the demon smack the top of her head in annoyance. "I better go now. See ya!" Delya waved to her tall friend before running off. He cupped his chin in curiosity.

"Kimikaz actually lives here? In San Francisco?" he thought aloud. "Something about that name isn't right..." Capt. Black's thoughts were about to drift somewhere else when a wooden board landed on the ground. merely feet away from where the captain stood. It crashed and broke into smaller, splintered pieces.

"Sor-_ry_!" Two construction workers called from above.

"Need to be a lot more careful," the bald man said as he walked back to his office for more coffee.

* * *

"Jade, you are _not_ going anywhere with me this summer and that is final. I already have enough trouble trying to deal with you at home."

"Aw! Uncle Jackie, you're _so_ going to make me suffer this summer! I should've stayed in school. At least I would've had some of my friends to talk to," Jade pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Jade and her uncle were at Section 13 in Jackie's room, changing into their matching, blue training uniforms. The niece was sitting on Jackie's bed pouting like a dog while Jackie was changing into his clothes. Jackie sighed and massaged his forehead.

"Jade, how many times do you have to tell you—oh never mind. You never listen anyway," the Chinese man shook his head. He never could remember to get himself to stop repeating the same thing.

Frustrated, Jade pouted some more. "This is so not fair. It's like I'm being put on punishment."

"But it's not. Don't worry Jade. Once we get to Section 13's training center Delya, you and I can train together. Won't that be fun?" Jackie smiled at his relative.

"Yeah, great joy," Jade answered with great sarcasm.

"Ja-ade, come and get your training clothes," Jackie said in a sing-song manner.

"Why not? I have nothing else interesting to do," a miserable Jade mumbled.

Jackie stepped out the bathroom in a blue Tai Chi ensemble. He turned around twice, showing off to Jade.

"Do you like it? I ordered this from Singapore," Jackie marveled.

"Yeah whatever. It's cool," Jade nodded.

"Well what are you waiting for? Come and get your uniform," Jackie showed off a matching blue suit. Jade threw back her head and let out a long sigh.

"Fine. I'll dress," Jade pointed to her uncle. She pushed past him and into the bathroom to change also.

* * *

"Where is Kimikaz? He's taking forever to get here," Tân said as he checked his watch, pacing back and forth. He was in the basement of the ZIK, Kimikaz's other company which was kept secret from the public. It was him, Jun and Lola standing around in a semi-dark basement.

"He has a lot of duties as a millionaire, so he's probably closing up Golden Rainbow," a nineteen year-old dark chi wizard named Jun replied.

"Yeah, and don't forget Mister Kim has to dodge paparazzi. He's a big celebrity, ya know," Lola, nineteen year-old good chi witch, spoke up.

Tân growled and turned around at the late teens. "Like I don't know about his public life. Tell me something I don't know."

"I know more than you," Jun turned away to mutter. He would've said it louder, but didn't want to risk getting in trouble. Lola heard him and began to chortle at his joke.

"We could tell you a lot of stuff you don't know. We just have to think about it," Lola stood up for her friend. "Like what if Mister Kim got in trouble with the law for some magic business or something?"

"The law has no way of knowing what happens in the magic realm. The law is completely oblivious to it," Tân calmly waved off the thought. In his many years of living, he had considered the law enforcement so vulnerable to the world of magic. He could rob a bank and get away with all its contents inside without getting caught by the police.

"Bu they still have their ways of arresting criminals. What if the police were able to connect Kimikaz with al the missing people in San Francisco?" Lola shrugged her shoulders. Jun gave a look of approval at his friend before turning back to his other boss.

"Lo' _does_ have a point."

Tân gave Jun a deadpan look. He turned away to take the time to take out his flip phone and stab the numbers on the phone.

"If that's true, I better call to see what's happening."

* * *

_The sun is beginning to set. Where is Mister Kim?_ Timothy stared down at his watch. This was probably the tenth time he had done that in the 30 minutes Kimikaz was gone. He was told to stay in the car no matter what. He was parked in the back of an alley, where no one could see the black car since it was hidden by the vast shadows. The car was facing forward so when Timothy was staring out of the driver's window, he was staring at a tall red and brick wall. The keys were out of the ignition, but if his Kimikaz didn't hurry Tim was about to drive off with or without him.

_What could he be doing at the Bay Area that takes his this long to do? Could this be a part of his job? _A concerned Tim thought with a long yawn. He too, was tired and wanted a precise eight hour night sleep. He was afraid being Kimikaz's personal driver was interfering with it.

In the seat behind him, Tim heard a shrill ringing and what sounded like a high vibration. He turned around to see it was Kimikaz' cell phone ringing. He reached over to pick it up and look at the caller ID.

"It's Tân. He must be getting worried also," the limo driver set the phone down and turned back to endlessly staring at the brick wall. He sat there and waited for another fifteen minutes until he heard the car door open.

"I'm ready to go. Get the car ready," Kimikaz called as he stepped inside his limo.

"Yes sir!" Tim saluted his employer as he pulled out of the alley slowly. He couldn't help but to ask, "What happened at the docks?"

"I had to met up with an old friend of mine," was his eerie response. However, Tim did not sense the frustration and the slight anger in his tone. He was too tired to notice. As he went back on the San Francisco streets, his tired eyes looked up to see how beautiful the sky had gotten. It was a mix of yellow, orange, magenta and a hint of red in the background. Tim looked up in the rearview mirror to see Kimikaz constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Are you feeling alright?" The question had startled Kimikaz that he almost jumped a mile in his chair. He came to his senses, straightening his suit and tie.

"Yes. I am fine. Thank you for the concern," the man smiled.

"Speaking of concern, I'm guessing Tân was concerned about you too. He called not too long ago. He was probably checking up on you."

Kimikaz pulled out his cell phone and slowly dialed Tân's number. As soon as the first ring came to the phone, the chi wizard was on the other end.

"Where are you and why didn't you pick up your phone?" Tân complained. "I've called five times."

"Oh it's nothing. I just had to take care of important business," the executive reassured his business partner.

"Tell me; what could be more important than your 'master plan'?"

"It would be better for me to tell you face-to-face when I arrive. I'm heading over to ZIK now. Is your demon summoning spell ready?"

"Of course. If it was a meal ready for you, it would've been cold now," the chief dark wizard laughed. The Golden Rainbow executive couldn't help but to laugh. It was hard not to appreciate Tân's humor, be it dark or not.

"Don't you worry. My mind may be old, but it's like Fort Knox. Over the years, many secrets go in and they have not come out. Ever," Tân quietly cackled .He took a look or two behind him to make sure Lola, Jun or anyone else in the room heard him. They had not. "As for the demon summoning, we'll just pull a demon from this void called the Demon Netherworld. It's a place where demons are banished to with powerful chi spells. You'll be fine."

"That's good. I knew I could trust you when we first signed together," Kimikaz made a grand smile. The phone call ended there with Tân hanging up first. He put the phone into his suit pocket and wiped his brow daintily.

"Kimikaz will be arriving in a minute. Are you all ready?" Tân gave a fake smile to the younger wizards.

"We've _been_ ready thirty minutes ago," Jun crossed his arms. With that, he earned a hardy smack on the head with Tân's cane.

"Ow! You didn't have to do that!" Jun rubbed the side of his head where he was hit.

"That answer did not require sass, young man. Apologize."

"Yes sir. Sorry sir," Jun bowed to his elder. The teen didn't look too pleased in doing so.

"Go get the book of spells from my room. And hurry please. You don't want to keep Kimikaz waiting, do you?" the dark wizard asked the teen. Jun hesitantly shook his head as he opened the door to outside.

"Of course not," he replied as he shut the door. He looked back to make sure it wasn't open a little.

"Anger the most powerful and tempered man on the planet. That's asking for it," Jun muttered.

* * *

_"Samuel Akin the Irish, you are under arrest for the creation of dark magic items and the collaboration with Shendu and his brethren," a soldier said. He was reading a long scroll aloud to Samuel, Lo Pei, his soldiers and everyone listening to what-was-soon-to-be Samuel's short trial. The scene was in a small village in the mainland of Germany. Most villagers came out of their houses to see what the commotion was. Three dozen soldiers surrounded a man by leaving him in the middle of their circle, unable to escape._

_"You're not going anywhere, Akin," a man in a deep voice called, standing behind the circle. He looked confident. "As you can see, my soldiers are trained in the arts of good magic, opposite of your dark sorcery."_

_Samuel cast many spells inside the circle trying to break free from his oppressors. Blue smoke came from his hands. His attempts didn't work because a green force field was lit up, preventing anything from going in or out._

_"I...I give up!" Samuel dropped on his stomach. His Irish accent made it hard for people to completely understand what he was saying. "Aye, this good magic is stronger than any I've ever experienced!"_

_"What did he say?" a soldier whispered to villager next to him._

_"I don't know. It sounds like a bunch of yelling to me," she replied._

_"If you had not lied to me when I caught you making those magic gemstones, I would have taken you to court to let the law decide your fate. Because of you, you have disgraced all magic users such as ourselves. When we reach the dungeon, you will be held there immediately. No questions asked," Lo Pei replied firmly. "As for the gems, they will be confiscated from you."_

_Lo Pei held out his hand, opening and closing it in a 'give it to me' manner. Samuel sighed heavily as he fished into his pocket. Seconds later, he brought out eight sparkling, colored jewels, almost throwing them into Lo Pei's hands._

_"Have it. I hope you choke on it," Samuel growled, feeling ashamed of his defeat._

_"Take him away," the good wizard pointed ahead of him._

_"This won't be the last you hear of me! I will be back and the gemstones too! Not in my lifetime but in another lifetime! The gems will reactivate and_ _I _will_ have my vengeance!" Samuel yelled. He stopped his nonsense and under his breath mumbled a spell in his native tongue._

Lig mo mhaoin mo mhallacht [Let my property have my curse]. Now no one can use the jewels and I mean no one_, Samuel thought angrily. No one knew that there was an Onyx, one gem he didn't give up, deep in his pocket. _

_As Samuel was dragged away, Lo Pei turned around to face Shendu the Fire demon. As Samuel was arrested, Lo Pei and his forces had to fight the demon dragon._

_"As for you Shendu, you are to remain as a statue forever. As for the rest of your family, we are currently searching for them."_

_"You are _not_ to touch my wife and son, for I'll-!"_

_Lo Pei interrupted Shendu's sentence with his own. "Your Emerald and your talismans are banned from you," the good chi wizard said. He picked up the Dog talisman and frowned. He placed the Immortality talisman into a fellow soldier's hand and closed it. "Take all twelve talismans_ _and give throw them far away from here. These should not be seen every again."_

_"And what about Shendu?"_

_Lo Pei stroked his beard slowly, think about the best answer for Shendu's punishment. "Hmm, maybe you should throw Shendu in the ocean. Since he hates water, staying in water would be a formidable punishment."_

_"Argh! I will have my revenge on you, Lo Pei if it's the last thing I do!" Shendu cursed in Mandarin. Lo Pei and some of his soldiers understood this, but chose to ignore it._

Uncle's eyes snapped open and he shot up in his chair like a flower.

"Aiyah, there is saliva on books," Uncle said softly.

"Uncle just had dream about story behind Samuel's jewels. Uncle should have known Shendu took part," Uncle thought as he carefully wiped off drool from his book. The old Chinese man picked up his glasses and rubbed it against his shirt to clean it.

"This can mean only one thing; the gems are ready to be revealed. Chi Master Fong must have been wanting to tell Uncle this all along," Uncle put a bookmark in the big book and closed it.

"Uncle was right. A new and stronger evil is coming soon. Uncle better get ready before it is too late."

**A/N: I hope I got the translation for the Irish spell right. Google Translate isn't the best for translation purposes. Please tell me some of your thoughts so far on the story. I'm willing to hear them.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Take a deep breath. Then, exhale," Jackie said in a soothing manner. He, Jade and Delya were in Section 13's training room. While Jade and Jackie had matching blue Tai Chi uniforms, Delya was much more detailed and different. The main colors on her were pitch black and purple with traces of red. The colors greatly complimented each other.

_Man, I don't wanna spend my summer doing nothing_, Jade wondered as she followed Jackie's orders. She was so focused on that she stepped on Jackie's foot. The archaeologist cringed in pain.

"Jade, _your foot_ is on _my_ foot," he said through his teeth in pain. She immediately took her foot off.

"Sorry Uncle Jackie. Didn't see your foot there," she said as her uncle briefly massaged his pained area.

"So Delya," Jackie, continuing to move to his flow. Delya and Jade followed behind. "I've heard Aunt Eva mention something about moving. Have you and Aunti found a comfortable house yet?"

Delya gave Jackie a playful smirk. "_Somebody_ wants Eva and I to leave, dontcha think?"

"Oh! I didn't mean it like that! I was just curious to know. Now move your arm in a position behind your back. Make sure your hips are moving for this to happen," Jackie did the movement.

"Yeah, I know. She's considering opening up a charm shop in India! It's probably going to be a short, cozy paradise," Delya imagined.

Jackie clapped his hands. "Congratulations!"

"When are you moving?!" Jade horrifically cried.

"By the end of the summer. Why?"

"Oh. Then it can't be _that_ bad. You'll leave when I start school. At least the summer won't be completely boring with you around," Jade took out a breath of relief. "How's Aunti anyway?"

"Stretch your leg muscles while trying to touch your feet or if you can, the ground," Jackie bent over. Jade was already ahead.

"She's fine. Eva's less tense these days, so now I can relax. I better call to make sure she's okay," Jade handed Delya her cell phone so the demon girl could call her aunt.

"Hello! This is Eva on the phone! Obviously, no one's home so call this number later and _maybe_ we'll pick up. Buh-bye!" Aunti voicemail ended. Delya hit 'End' and gave the phone back to Jade.

"She didn't pick up, did she?" Jade stared at Delya.

"No. When I left the house, Aunti fell into a deep nap. It's weird because Aunti didn't seem tired when we went out for donuts. I guess walking around outside got her more tired than I thought," She shook her head. "So what do you guys really do here? You know, when you're not fighting evil?"

"I relax. I do my job. Jade would prefer to do the opposite," Jackie smirked at his niece. Jade opened her mouth to respond to Jackie's callout but Uncle burst into the room, holding a big book and not looking too happy.

"Uncle, how nice of you to join us!" Jackie began to say with an open hug but Uncle made a quick hit to his head.

"Ouch!"

"What's up Unc?" Jade joined in. Uncle ignored her, still talking to his nephew.

"Be quiet Jackie! This is _im-**por**-tant_!" Uncle yelled. He planted the heavy book on a nearby desk, making the table shake. Without knowing it, he mumbled to himself, rapidly flipping from page to page.

"Isn't that your book of magic history?" Delya peered over Uncle's shoulder. The old man didn't answer. After more mumbling and flipping later, The Chinese elder stopped at a page with different colored gems, shining brightly as if they were real.

"Ooh, pretty!" Jade cooed.

"This is very important so do not interrupt Uncle while speaking! For the past few nights, Uncle has been having the same dream dealing with these nine gems. In the dream was Lo Pei and his many soldiers, a dark chi wizard and Shendu!"

The room went dead silent. If a pin had dropped, everyone would've heard the pin fall and hit the ground with a clatter.

"Say what now?" Delya decided to speak out.

"Was the dark chi wizard Daolon Wong?" Jade asked.

"You **saw** Shendu?!" Jackie's eyes widened. Uncle answered him with another hit to the head.

"Uncle said _**DON'T INTERRUPT**_!" The Chinese elder's shriek instantly silenced everyone. "Like he was saying, Uncle is guessing that his dream was based off after the time of Shendu's banishment. Samuel Akin, an Irish dark chi wizard made nine gems with magical powers. However, he was arrested by Lo Pei's forces and immediately imprisoned for life," as Uncle was telling the story he was flipping the pages and showing the book's words and illustrations.

"Ha, he got busted!" Jade called as she pointed to one of the illustrations with Samuel getting captured.

"Lo Pei forced Samuel to give him all the gems, however he didn't. He gave up all but one gem and kept it in his pocket. He vowed to pass this down to his ancestors. As for Lo Pei, he took the gems and threw them in the Atlantic Ocean."

"Uncle, don't you mean the _South_ China Sea?" Jackie corrected Uncle. "Why wouldn't Shendu be thrown in the Atlantic Ocean if his domain was all of Hong Kong and China?"

"No. The dream Uncle dreamt took place in a small European village. When Samuel created the gems, it was in Europe, Germany to be precise. When Shendu and his brethren was being hunted down by the Eight Immortals, Shendu escaped to Germany. Due to the presence of the demon dragons there, Shendu was able to blend in easily. There, Shendu and Samuel met each other and arranged a deal for the nine gems," Uncle looked up only to fix his glasses. "The way the plan was rumored that each of the demons was to get a gem and Samuel would've kept one. When the plan didn't work, Samuel and Shendu were captured."

"I think I remembering hearing something like that happening," Delya cupped her chin. "Shendu ended up getting thrown in the water and was left down there for some time until some fisherman accidentally pulled him up. Then, he was sold into markets again and again for a while."

"In Uncle's dream, as Samuel was being arrested he mumbled spell in Irish Gaelic that would prohibit the gems' power from being used for eight centuries. The reason why Uncle is telling you this is because somewhere on Earth, someone is searching for the gems and is planning to use it for evil. That is why we again must stop the forces of evil."

Jade shot up like a rocket and did a little dance while Jackie's mouth went agape. Delya wore a tired and pained expression. "**Yes**! So I was right on some evil guy going around the world to take some magical stuff! My summer is gonna ROCK! Uh-huh, finding jewels, fighting bad guys, saving the world!" The Chinese girl cheered.

"Uncle, how do you know all this? I mean, I thought this was all over," Jackie scratched his hair. He had pinched himself twice, trying to see if he was experiencing a bad dream.

"Uncle thought the same thing, but apparently we are put in the same situation we have been in for some time now. Chi Master Fong must've sent dream to Uncle," Uncle shrugged. He pointed to Delya. "Call your aunt and tell her what Uncle told you. He already told Tohru."

"She's taking a nap so-"

"Call again and give her message!" Uncle demanded as he stormed out the room and closed the door.

"...Or maybe I'll just go home and tell her myself. It's getting late anyway." Delya grabbed her key. Jackie took out a deep breath in exasperation.

"Just when I thought it was all over," the researcher groaned. The demon dame placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile.

"Trust me Jackie. It'll never be over. Just when you think the world is in balance, someone throws it out of balance," she nodded.

"But this happened so suddenly," the archaeologist scratched his head. "I feel like my peace went by too quickly."

"What do you mean 'so suddenly'? The last time something magical happened was, like, months ago!" Jade threw her hands in the air. "Come on Uncle Jackie, you gotta get with the program!" Jade skipped out of the training room, humming a happy tone.

Jackie stroked his chin slowly, having a thought. _Whenever Uncle claims something about the forces of evil, he's usually right._

* * *

Kimikaz walked slowly down the stairs of his ZIK facility. His mind twisted and turned with every thought, as did the butterflies in his stomach. He had heard a lot about the Demon Netherworld, but never had he expected his co-worker to get involved in it.

_I hope Tân doesn't pick out a dragon from this so-called demon void. Dragons aren't my type. I wonder what is he up to anyway? What if he uses that demon to betray me as his minion? What is he uses the demon to look for the gems on his own behind my back?_

"Are you alright, Mister Kim?" his driver Tim asked. Kimikaz offered for him to come just in case anything crazy happens.

"I didn't say anything," Kimikaz tightened his tie.

"I heard you talking to yourself. I was just asking if you were alright?" Tim repeated the question. "And you probably didn't notice yourself biting your fingernails."

Kimikaz looked at his fingernail. It was halfway off, hanging there awkwardly. He ripped off the hangnail and tossed it out the open window. "Oh, sorry. Didn't realize it."

"Are you nervous about Tân, sir?" his driver asked in a soft tone.

"Not just that. It's about the visit at the docks. Tell me, did anyone see me?"

"I can assure you, sir. No one saw you on the dock. You should be alright," Tim patted Kimikaz's back softly, trying to calm him down.

"I just hope no one is plotting behind my back. I may be a big celebrity but that doesn't mean I'm always safe."

Tim reached the bottom of the stairs and opened the door for his boss. The men's eyes were blinded by the dark blue light coming from the room.

"What is that?" Tim asked in awe.

"Ah, Kimikaz! You've finally arrived! Wondering what was taking you so long," Tân mumbled the last part under his breath. Kimikaz reach into his bottom pocket and took out his wallet. He pulled out a fifty dollar bill and handed it to Timothy. He gave his employee a grand smile.

"I thank you for waiting on me so long this evening. Here, let yourself out and take this money to use for a taxi cab to get you home. And keep the change," the executive said. Timothy was at lost for words.

"Thank you. Good night, Mister Kim," the man regained his calm attitude and bowed, leaving the basement. Kimikaz took his time to shut the door behind him. A confused and somewhat jealous Jun turned to Kimikaz with a cautious look before speaking.

"You're not going to kill him? Doesn't he know too much already?" the young man asked.

"Of course not! Jun, you've known me better than that. I don't kill everyone who's affiliated with me. If that was true, I would be the only person standing in this room," the man ended the conversation by turning to Tân. Lola shifted uncomfortably at Kimikaz's response.

Jun's knuckles turned white as he clenched them. He was able to keep his stoic face fixed on his boss. Kimikaz's tone had unnerved Jun also. "N-Nevermind."

"Are you ready to witness a demon conjuring, partner?" the dark chi wizard put his arm around his partner.

"Wait, I thought you told Mr. Kim that the demon conjuring would start at midnight," Jun scratched his black hair. Lola face palmed and nudged him in his ribs.

"We changed it at the last minute, remember?" the girl reminded her fellow adolescent

"Oh yeah. My bad."

"As I was saying, I wanted to start at midnight but as you were complaining before, why not start now? Lola and Jun have already completed it and the spell is not at its best since we had to wait for you. If we waited any longer, the spell would have to be done again," Tân touched the dark blue soup. It was strong and sticky. He had to wipe the gunk on the tip of the pot to get off the substance.

"You have the book?" Tân opened his hand in Jun's direction. The ark wizard apprentice reached to the floor to pick up a thick book. He flipped it open and turned to a certain page, handing it to his teacher.

"Here you go, sir," Jun droned out with a roll of his eyes.

"Perfect. Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

Delya, back in her usual attire, ran up the stairs of her front porch, knocking on the door rapidly. She had spent a good twenty-five minutes running from Section 13 to her house and she was tired. Delya wasn't very good at running and before, Drago never bothered to waste time pointing this out to her.

"Aunti? Aunti are you there?" she hollered. The window of the house were painted with bright light pouring out the window.

"Aunti left the lights on. She's up," Delya said. She put her key through the keyhole, only to find the door already unlocked.

"Huh? How is the door unlocked if **I** locked it?" Delya cautiously stepped inside. The house looked the same way it was when Delya left. All the lights were on except in Aunti's room, making it look like a lighthouse.

"Hey I'm back. I've got some important news to tell you from Uncle!" Delya said, opening her door. The bed was empty and the elder woman's room as the same as it always had been.

"Hmm...that's strange," Delya played with her curly hair. She looked into Aunti's closet, seeing that it still had looked the same.

"Everything looks cleaner. Eva might have gotten up and done some cleaning," the demon deduced.

"Did she decide to go on vacation?" the female demon ended up answering her own question when she discovered Aunti's set of keys sitting on her nightstand. Beside her keys sat her chi instruments,

"Nope. Now I know something is most definitely wrong," Delya said. She ran around the house, looking through every room. She was getting so worried that she had to look twice in each room.

"Aunt Eva, I hope we both know that this isn't a game Hide 'n' Seek! If it is, then I give up already!" she yelled as loud as she could. The only thing that responded back was her echo.

"I can't believe Aunti left on her own _and_ without her keys! Just when the most important thing needs to be said, she's not here!" _C'mon Delya think! Where would she go?_

Delya kicked off her shoes into her room and plopped into the living room couch, taking up all the space on it.

"Aunti couldn't go anywhere at this time of hour. Even if she did, it would only be to Section 13 and if she wanted to go there, she would've gone with me in the first place. Where is she that she didn't take her house keys?"

Delya snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. She shot up out of her chair and ran through to the garage, swinging open the door. A large black car was sitting in the garage, looking new under the garage light.

"Ah dammit," Delya cursed and closed the door behind her. Even when she cursed, Aunti wasn't around to put Delya in her place. Delya went back to the living room and plopped right back down again on her couch.

"And to make it even worse, Aunti didn't even take the car. Now I know this is some definite trouble."

* * *

"There's some dark chi here. I can feel its power looming," the son of Shendu said with wonder as he jumped from rock to rock. Even though it was nothing but floating rocks in never ending space, the noise had to be coming from somewhere.

Drago had stayed far away as he could from his relatives, especially Shendu since he was giving his son the hardest time. Mostly the superior Fire Demon said something like, 'This is all your fault. If you had...' or something along the lines of, 'I wish you would...'. Useless advice from a father who hardly cared. Like some teenagers would do in this situation, Drago ignored his father and went his own.

"If there's some dark chi in this hellhole, that means that there must be some kind of weak tear in this space. Some kind of portal. Maybe it can take me back to San Fran," the young demon deduced. If it came to that, the dragon would do anything to get out of his prison.

"Drago!"

"Ugh, Hsi Wu's calling me. Gotta hide!" he said to himself. He jumped on top of a rock, jumped over a small rock and landed in the entrance of a cave small enough for Drago to fit in.

"Drago, where are you? My older siblings have requested to see you!" the Sky demon flew around, searching for his nephew.

_Like hell they will_, Drago mentally rolled his eyes. A cold chill rolled up and down the demon's back, making Drago shudder.

"That shudder...I must be getting close. But how am I going to lure that flying piñata away from here so I can keep searching?" As if his questions were answered, Hsi Wu stopped circling around and finally landed on a rock not too far from Drago's hiding place.

"It's like Drago disappeared!" Hsi Wu exclaimed. Xiao Fung blew in, landing on a rock beside his younger brother. He narrowed his crimson red eyes around his surroundings. He let out a huff.

"He must know about the dark chi portal in the void," the abnormal demon frog declared with a hand to his chin.

"You think that runt knows?" the Sky Demon scoffed with a dismiss of his hand. "Drago hardly knew about the demon powers until the bad chi stars revealed themselves. What makes you think he knows about the portal that's probably around here?"

Drago made a low rumble in the back of his throat, fixating a death glance on his uncle. "I'll show you who's a runt."

"Drago is still a demon like the rest of us. Perhaps small in size, but a demon nonetheless. The fact that Drago also evaded banishment the longest would give him a great accomplishment," Tso Lan levitated in in-between the Wind and Sky Demon. "I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you."

"Tell me, brother Tso. What is there to underestimate about the son of Shendu? They think alike, have the same temper, have tremendous egos, do the most foolish and selfish things. I could go on and on in the list of their similarities. It's just a prediction," Hsi Wu snickered.

"For how long did you look for Drago?" Tso Lan asked. The Sky Demon shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know? There's no time here."

"Well it's obvious who made him go off," from a puddle of water, Bai Tza appeared and gave a hard glare at her brother Shendu.

"What?! How is this my fault?!" The Fire Demon pointed to himself. "It's not my fault Drago is a proven failure!"

"And it's quite clear who taught him to be the failure," Hsi Wu slyly replied. Shendu's claw quickly lit up on fire, staring at the smaller demon. Hsi Wu noticed the quick change in his brother's eyes and was prepared to take off, in case any fireballs were going to be flying.

"You'd be wise to keep your tongue where it does not belong, brother," the dragon hissed.

"Same for you," the bat-like demon said back.

"**ENOUGH**!" bellowed the Thunder Demon. Lightning flashed behind him. "The more time you spend arguing over meaningless matters, the more time that half-pint-of-a-demon gets looking for that portal to the human realm!"

Drago let out a wide, ear-to-ear grin hearing his uncle say this. He was still in the company of his small cave, hearing the conversation go back and forth. While he wanted his family to go off already so he could see why he was feeling some weird senses, Drago wasn't so sure anymore.

_So there is a portal around here. I knew it!_ the young dragon congratulated himself on listening to his gut feeling.

"Arguing is all we do. Bicker, bicker, bicker," Po Kong groaned. She had a slight pouty face sitting on her rock. "We can never seem to get along."

"When we do, the agreements are short," the Wind Demon added.

"If we could somehow put aside our differences and stop Shendu's son from getting to that portal..." the Water Demon trailed off.

"The only thing the seven of us could agree on together was despising and getting revenge on Shendu...when he was running free in the human realm," Dai Gui grumbled. This earned the Earth demon a glare from Shendu, which he ignored.

"And a not-so-friendly reminder that the last time we all decided to agree on something was when that Chan girl came in the void following Sister Bai's banishment. Look how fast that disappeared once Shendu's portal was left open," Xiao Fung pointed out. Dai Gui growled hearing 'Chan'.

"Dai Gui blames Chan for this mess! If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be trapped here for eternity!" in his anger, Dai Gui smashed several rocks in his way in front of him. The smashed debris forever floated upward.

Tchang Zu snapped his head towards the Fire Demon, a red and angry glint in his eyes. "Your son is such a burden!" the Thunder demon crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Shendu's son has a name, brother," Bai Tza calmly reminded his sibling.

"Let us remember that this 'portal' you all speak of could be just talk," Tso Lan folded his arms. He hated how his siblings were quick to believe something as a rumor. The Moon Demon eventually learned that he was more realistic than his siblings.

"It couldn't hurt to see if it's true. This pit is boring and I'm hungry!" Po Kong thundered.

"You're always hungry, Po Kong! Can't you think with your **mind** instead of your **mouth**?!" Hsi Wu quietly groaned.

"Dai Gui say we leave Shendu's son alone. He got the privacy he needed, so why do we complain? We already have Shendu to worry about," the Earth demon glared at Shendu, which earned him a glare back.

Tchang Zu was the first to hear it. He placed a hand to his ear, trying to get a better sound. "Did you hear that? Sounded like some kind of swirling sound," The Thunder demon's hand danced with his yellow lightning in his hand. The light from the lightning made his glowing red eyes stand out more.

"Perhaps staying in this bone-dry pit for centuries has made you gone mad," Bai Tza didn't even wince at her brother's sudden outburst. When you lived in the same pit with the Thunder Demon, you would expect outbursts from him to happen quite often.

* * *

"Okay, so the spell isn't as strong," Tân stroked his chin hair. He turned to his partner with a look of disdain. "I told you so."

"Can't you make it strong again?" Kimikaz whined. He took a look at his watch before continuing to speak. "I have more important stuff to do than waiting around for something special from the Demon Void."

Tân scratched the top of his head and tapped his foot slightly. "The ingredients we used for that spell was very rare. We're going to have to use substitutes."

"Even with the correct ingredients, it couldn't keep a large portal like this open forever. With substitutes, the time the portal will be opened will be cut even shorter," Lola commented. "Instead of the portal staying still in one place, it will continuously pop up from place to place in the void."

"And if you think about it, that's good because many demons have been banished to the Demon Netherworld throughout time. By the first five sightings of a portal, the news would have spread to all the demons in the area," Jun added. "It would be even better if we could manage to pull the said demon out."

Kimikaz nodded, his hand resting on his chin. "Do you know how much approximate time the portal can remain open?" Jun glanced at his black watch to his right wrist.

"About...thirty minutes to an hour. That's plenty of time to conjure a large demon," he answered.

"Alright then. We need to speed up this process," Kimikaz uttered. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and began to pace in small circles. "I'm not about to be here the whole night, you know."

* * *

"Ugh, stupid adults. Now what am I going to do?" Drago grumbled, trying to make more room for him in his tiny cave. His legs, tail and arm muscles were beginning to cramp up and it felt like the cave was getting smaller. Drago didn't want to admit it, but the thought of what would happen to him when he gets caught by his relatives was alarming. That was the only thing Drago could think of at the moment, because all the sudden and loud commotion outside was bothering him.

"I know what I saw!" Shendu angrily claimed. "It was a dark blue portal sitting over there!"

Hsi Wu flew over the location the Fire Demon pointed to. After some time of rigorously checking the area, the Sky Demon came back with a solemn look.

"There was nothing. Perhaps you're also beginning to grow mad?" the winged creature shrugged, perching himself on Po Kong's shoulder.

"Don't tell me you didn't see it either?" Shendu pointed to his siblings.

"I'm not sure. Some of the other demons here said something about seeing a portal also. They tried to go into it but it had closed up at the last minute, only to open itself up again in the distance," Xiao Fung lazily chimed in. All the demons almost snapped their own necks, for they turned to the Demon of Wind so fast.

"You saw this and said nothing?!" The Demon of Mountain raved. Xiao Fung narrowed his eyes toward his sister.

"Like Tso Lan pointed out before, it was probably a myth. If it was, you should notice how easily you fell for it."

"Oh, now you want to try and take me advice," a dry Tso Lan grumbled.

Drago shifted uncomfortably in his small space, trying to make himself fit. He found it harder to inhale with every minute that passed by.

_If I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to get crushed to death_, he thought with a silent wheeze.

"DAI GUI WANTS TO HEAR NO MORE TALK OF MYTHS!" he raved. He smashed a rather large rock to prove his point. The debris of the rock went everywhere on his siblings and his surroundings.

"Dai Gui!" Bai Tza screeched as she pulled out some rocks from her hair. "We understand your frustration but keep your outbursts to yourself!"

Tso Lan used his gravity ability to move the debris of rock behind him. "Yes. With the kind of attitude you demonstrate, you become more and more like Tchang Zu."

Hsi Wu was hit in the head with two rocks, making him slightly angry. "We already have one demon's outrageous behavior to deal with. We don't need yours too."

"Repeat what you said so Dai Gui has the pleasure of destroying you!" the Earth Demon charged towards his younger brother. While the demons were busy trying to break up the fight, none of them noticed a large debris of rock was heading towards Drago's direction. Even he was enjoying seeing his relatives fight, it took the dragon a while to realize what was going on.

"If only I had some popcorn," Drago snickered. The next thing he knew, he was quickly tilting forward and out the entrance of his cave.

"Hey, what going—yah!" Drago couldn't help but scream as the fast rock flung Drago away. His back smacked against a hard side of a rock before landing face first to the barren ground.

"Ouch," the dazed demon attempted to sit up, only to fall on his back. The Eight Demon Sorcerers stopped their nonsense to turn to Drago's direction.

"So there's my son," Shendu crossed his arms.

"Eavesdropping in our conversation," Xiao Fung said in a cool manner.

"About time the little whelp showed up," Tchang Zu grumbled. Hsi Wu took it as his cue to fly over to the almost-passed-out Drago. He grabbed him by his arms and lifted him up with ease.

"At least he knew to stay out of the adult's conversation," he chuckled. Drago squirmed under his Uncle's tight grip.

"Let me go, you freak!" the dragon demanded. The Sky Demon laughed as he dropped Drago on a small platform in front of his family.

"Look who's talking," he retorted with a toothy flash.

"Hasn't your father taught you not to eavesdrop?" Po Kong boomed. Drago nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and sat down.

"You're wasting your breath, sister Po. If Shendu did, it wouldn't be enough times for Drago to listen," Bai shook her head.

"Pretty much," Drago glanced at his sharp claws. He looked up. "So what's all this fuss about a disappearing-and-reappearing portal?"

"Shouldn't you know? You've heard it all," Tso Lan interjected. Drago gave a deafening glare to the Demon of the Moon before tending to his claws again.

"Maybe, maybe not," came the demon dragon's response. "Who was asking you?"

"One of these days, Shendu, I will correct that self-righteous son and that odious mouth of his. This goes too far!" Tchang Zu turned to his brother. "If Drago was my son, I'd teach him proper respect and when to give it when respect is due."

Drago scowled at his uncle. Without thinking, he blurted out, "If I was your son, I'd learn to hate you in the womb."

The snarky comment earned Drago a lightning bolt just barely missing his tail.

Tchang Zu frowned at the son of Shendu. In his hand was a lightning ball, lighting up half of his face. "Be lucky I missed."

"If I had all eight demon chi like before, I wouldn't have to miss you striking you!" Drago shouted, fists balled up and ready to fight. He knew all odds were against him, but he didn't care.

"Shut your mouth, boy! You're getting yourself into more trouble!" his father commanded. "Show some respect. We'd rather be doing something useful—"

"Like searching for the portal?!" the Sky Demon threw back his head.

"Yeah?! Well, I didn't ask to be here either and look what's happening now!" Drago roared. "I'm ready for whatever Sparky has for me because I'm not going down without a fight!"

Tchang Zu pushed Shendu out of the way to generate lightning in both of his hands.

"Don't kill the boy," Xiao Fung frantically shook his head. "There has to be a civil way to solve this disagreement, perhaps through punishment!"

"Tchang Zu does **NOT DO CIVIL**!" Tchang Zu boomed back at his brother.

"NO!" Shendu cried.

What followed after seemed to be like a slow moment in a movie where Drago knew something bad was going to happen. He looked up, the light from the lightning constricted his pupils. He winced, remembering how bad the lightning in Seattle hit him without the Thunder Demon chi. Somehow, he could feel the feat radiate off the lightning bolt and hit every part of his body. The son of Shendu took a step back and took a slight look to the left. To Tchang Zu's left was Shendu, and it looked like he was trying to prevent his brother from making a terrible mistake. The father dragon had tried maintained his collected and uncaring look, but Drago could feel it in the back of his head that he was really worried.

Tchang Zu, on the other hand, had a look of complete murder on his face. Even though the Thunder Demon was known to be a fighter between the demon brethren, Drago had noticed how shocked the other Demon Sorcerers were. _I've never seen them so concerned before_, Drago thought. He felt a sharp gut feeling pierce his stomach hit his move upwards, acting like a strike of lightning. Tis was the same feeling Drago felt when the lightning had hit him. The young demon was unaware of it, but lightning as big and powerful as the one Tchang Zu was conjuring was a great fear of his, along with water. The two of them combined could make horrible consequences.

_I never though I was going to die like this...,_ Drago closed his eyes tight, not wanting to think about his death. He then flung his eyes open, for he was distracted by feeling an arm grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him forward. The next thing Drago felt was a warm flash of light hit him.

The lightning demolished Drago's rock, leaving nothing but small pieces of ash lying about. Shendu's blood red eyes went wide, watching how quickly Drago vanished in his eyes. He was speechless, as for the rest of his family.

"...Drago?" the Fire Demon managed to croak.

"He-He's gone. Just like that," Hsi Wu stammered. He turned to Tchang Zu with a fearful look. The Demon of the Skies had been hit with plenty of lightning before, both natural and by his brother, so he had expected Drago to put it behind him. "Brother, I never expected your lightning to kill him."

Tchang Zu himself was a little taken aback by his power. He stared down at his own hands before looking at the place where Drago was once standing. His speechlessness turned into anger, channeling it at Shendu.

"The lightning wasn't supposed to kill him!" was all Tchang Zu could say. Shendu opened fire at his brothers, pushing the Thunder Demon back some. "Hsi Wu has been hit by my lightning many times over and he is still alive and breathing!"

"DRAGO AND HSI WU ARE _NOT_ THE SAME!" Shendu screeched.

"YOU TOLD ME DRAGO WAS A FULL DEMON! IF HE WAS, MY LIGHTNING WOULDN'T HAVE AFFECTED YOUR SON AS MUCH! BESIDES, HE HAD MY THUNDER DEMON CHI IN HIM ONCE SO IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FINE!"

"EVEN IF DRAGO _WASN'T_ A FULL DEMON LIKE THE REST OF US, WHO ASKED YOU TO DISCIPLINE MY SON FOR ME?! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DIDN'T TRUST YOU ALL AROUND MY SON DURING MY REIGN BECAUSE THIS—**_THIS_ **IS EXACTLY WHAT COULD'VE HAPPENED IF I WASN'T AROUND TO WATCH HIM!" Shendu raved. He never expected to stick up for Drago this much. It was truly surprising for everyone to see Shendu's protective side. Any moment and Shendu was ready to rip his brother apart.

He pointed a claw at the Thunder Demon, threating, "You took away the one I cherished most. Now you will greatly perish because of it. Mark my words," With that, the dragon swiftly flew off, not bothering to look back.

* * *

"I got something!" Jun cried, his body halfway in the cauldron. "Quick! Someone grab me!" Lola quickly followed her friend's instructions, pulling at Jun's waist.

"Whatever you're pulling out, it must be pretty big and heavy!" she struggled. Kimikaz reached around Jun's waist and pulled as heard as he could.

"The demon I'm pulling is really sweaty!" Jun squealed.

"Stop complaining and just keep pulling!" Lola grunted.

"Oh my!" Tân put his hand to his mouth. He pointed his cane inside the potion, blasting it with as much dark magic as he could. With the boost Jun was able to pull the demon out with ease, laying the smallish creature on the cold floor.

"Finally, it's over," as he said this the portal in the pot closed up, turning into a black cement.

Upon seeing the supernatural, Lola almost dived behind Jun holding onto his arm as tightly as she could. Jun backed the two of them into a corner, trying to get as far as possible from the unconscious being before them.

"W-What is that thing?" Jun stammered. He placed a hand on the left half of his chest, feeling his heartbeat jump. Any second and his organ would jump out of his chest.

"It's a demon. Don't be so afraid Jun. Once you've fully mastered the dark arts, crossing paths with a demon will be the least of your worries," he duly noted. Even if Tân had only seen a demon once, the size of the one he was seeing was pretty small compared to the stories passed down in his family.

"This, my boy," the head dark chi wizard grinned manically," Is our back-up."


	5. Chapter 5

"Ah!" Kimikaz backed up into a wall, his eyes the size of small moons seeing the supernatural rogue lying in front of him. The demon animal was unconscious, but it still frightened the businessman almost to the point of a heart attack.

"I thought I said not to bring a dragon here!" the CEO shrieked. "I don't feel so comfortable with a dragon around me!"

"You've never said anything about dragons. You're just saying that now," Lola crossed her arms to give an exasperated look at her boss. Jun shook his head and slowly face palmed. He looked up and gave a grave look at Kimikaz.

"Why does it even matter? Dragon or not, we got a dragon demon. The dragon looks pretty cool to me," the adolescent shrugged. "I like dragons. They're pretty cool."

"It doesn't matter if I said it or not. I. Don't like. Dragons," Kimikaz explained himself. Jun lifted the demon animal over and took a good look at the creature.

"You should be glad he's asleep. If he was alive, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be happy with you saying something disrespectful," the young man replied.

"Yeah, he looks kinda scary," Lola unconsciously grabbed Jun's forearm tight. It was a habit Lola and Jun had done to one another after knowing each other for so long. Jun placed his hand on Lola's to ease her.

"Excuse me, it is a demon. He is supposed to be scary and intimidating to the human eye," Tân acknowledged with a raise of his brow.

"He still looks scary, even though he's pretty small," Kimikaz continued.

"If you guys are really squeamish about this guy, I could just take him away in a cell somewhere," Jun inched his way towards the door.

"And another thing: why is he small? He should be big—even bigger than this room!" Kimikaz demonstrated with his hands as he turned to Jun.

"What? The guy was the best demon I could grab!" Jun could only shrug. He looked at his muscles, which were rather small. "I may be pretty strong, but I'm not that strong."

"It's fine. We don't need a demon that can crush us all with one swoop. Just in case anything happens, it will be easier for us to capture him since he's small and weak. I'm guessing the one Jun randomly snatched is a half demon," Tân stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"And when will he wake up?" Jun asked. He was all up in his face, watching him sleep.

Lola taped her head, going into deep thinking. "I think the spell drained all of his energy. By tomorrow, he should wake up."

"If you guys are really squeamish about this guy, we could just put him in a cell and leave him somewhere," Jun inched his way towards the door.

"I think you two have done enough for today. I will get some guards to escort the young demon to his cell and be finished for the night. You both deserve your eight hour rest," a happy Kimikaz pointed to the door exit.

"Tomorrow, I will worry about interrogating the young demon," Tân bowed. "Like Kimikaz said, you young folk have done enough for today."

Lola lightly beamed while Jun did a small fist pump to her side. "Yes! Freedom!" the male teen exclaimed.

"Thank you so much, Sir Kim and Tân. Good night," The Filipina made a little bow to the chief dark wizard in return. She walked out and silently closed the door behind her. Behind the closed doors, the partners began to converse.

"In case the demon tries to escape, make sure to put a magical wall around his chamber," the executive told the elder man. He kept his eyes on the dragon. "Dragons make me...uncomfortable. That's why I'm made the request."

"I suppose that's understandable. The smaller ones are always the crafty ones," Tân considerably thought. "But then again, what do you expect from it? The little runt couldn't cause that much harm."

Kimikaz seemed to stare off into the black cement before speaking. He placed a his large hand on Tân's shoulder with a wide grin.

"I have a favor to ask of you. Would you be willing to do it for a partner bonus?"

* * *

"Aunti was nowhere to be found? How is that possible?" Jackie narrowed his brown eyes. Delya shrugged, then finally nodded. She was back in Section 13, telling the Chan family what she saw. She was tired physically, emotionally and mentally.

The archaeologist confusedly scratched his jet black hair. "I don't understand. Why would Aunti disappear just like that?"

"I don't get it either. Elder women don't just 'disappear', Jackie," Delya gave the man an irritated look with her air quotes. Whenever the young woman was irritated with an issue, she tended to let cynical comments slip. It didn't matter if Delya was talking to someone as important as the President or someone as young as Jade. No one was spared from her snarky remarks. Jackie gave her a slightly irritated look back, crossing his arms.

"Your sarcasm isn't making the situation any better," the archaeologist deadpanned.

"Yeah, well—nevermind," the young woman apologized. "Sorry about the attitude."

"Did she go for a jog?" Jade asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Mm, no. I don't think Aunti would trust San Francisco enough to go jogging in the middle of the night. Not with that 'stronger evil' stuff she keep telling me about," Delya air quoted. The demon crossed her arms and leaned her back against a stone wall as she was telling her story.

"Well she is right!" Uncle jabbed a finger in Delya's face. "You are a terrible niece for not watching her like you are supposed to!"

"I already said I'm _sor-ry_! What more do you want from me?! I just wanted to check on you guys here. I was getting bored at my house!" the demon whined. "C'mon. You gotta believe me! When I left, I swear she was taking a nap!"

"Well, does your aunt sleepwalk? Like she gets up and do things she doesn't realize while she's sleeping?" Jade shrugged. "Jackie does it sometimes when he doesn't get enough sleep."

Jackie gave his niece a funny look before answering to the accusation. "That's not true!"

"Bah! Tell that to all of Uncle's antique's you've broken while sleep walking!" Uncle brushed his nephew off.

"I know that's not true. Usually Aunti is trying to stop me from sleepwalking," Delya rubbed her neck sheepishly. "The last time Aunti caught me sleep walking, she caught me smelling like sour milk."

"Sour milk?" Jade laughed. "How did that happen?"

"Yeah, it's a long story," Delya smiled.

"And Evangeline didn't leave a note or anything that said she was gone?" Uncle narrowed his eyes at the demon.

Delya rolled her eyes at the question. "If Aunti left a note, I wouldn't have to be telling you this."

"We can't really call it a mystery yet. Maybe she is out for a jog or buying something from a grocery store," Jackie decided to lean against a wall besides his ally. "Maybe a small vacation?"

"If so, she would've called or said something. And the only vacation Aunti was talking about was moving to India in a little charm shop by the end of the summer," Delya plopped down on the clean floor, burying her head in her hands.

Jade patted Delya's heavily curly head. "Don't be sad. Aunt Eva will be back. Trust me. She's probably just doing something important without you, that's all."

"Eva wouldn't want to do something important without me as her bodyguard," Delya rocked her heels back and forth nervously. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach flutter around.

"If it makes you feel better, I could ask Captain Black to send out a few small search parties. If by then Aunti is not found, this will be considered a missing case. Is that all right with you?" Jackie asked with a helpful hand on Delya's shoulder. She looked up to the archaeologist man and happily nodded. Uncle reached down and smacked the top of Jackie's head.

"Ow!"

"Search parties are nothing! Leave it to Uncle. He will just use a tracking spell to find Evangeline," Uncle dismissed the threat with a simple shrug. "Chi wizard will find chi witch."

"You're telling me it's going to be that easy?" Delya wiped her hair from her face.

"It would be if good ol' Eva brought her chi magic with her, right?" Jade broke in. She gave a worrisome look at Delya. She slowly shook her head.

"We're probably throwing things out of proportions. Aunt Eva is too strong to get kidnapped, and I mean strong emotionally. Maybe—maybe she was never kidnapped, like Jade and Jackie said. We should wait until tomorrow. If by then and Aunti is not back, then we can take things into caution and rule it as a kidnapping," Delya finished. The Chan family stared her down for awhile before finally nodding their heads in agreement.

"Alright then. We wait until tomorrow. Got it," Jackie gave a slight thumbs up to Delya.

"Deal, but Evangeline wouldn't be gone if you had watched her like the good niece she says you are!" Uncle again pointed to Delya with an exasperated look.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I apologize for being a terrible niece and guardian! Is that what you wanted to hear me say?!" the demon glared at the chi wizard as she turned to leave. "Geez, where's the respect here?" She turned back to say before slinking off around the corner. When she felt Uncle boring his dark eyes into the back of her skull, Delya gave the Chinese elder a childish raspberry.

"Oohh!" Uncle's face turned sour, sticking his tongue at Delya in return. By the time he did that, Delya was no longer there to witness. Jade couldn't help but laugh at Delya and Uncle's childishness. Jackie face palmed. Uncle pretended to roll up his sleeves before charging in Delya's direction. Jackie jumped in his uncle's way and put his hands out to stop him from leaving.

"Uncle," the Chinese archaeologist raised his voice to try and correct his elder relative. "Remember. Delya is our friend. We shouldn't act unrational." The elder wizard crossed his arms over his chest with a glare to his nephew.

"The only reason I'm agreeing to help is to find Evangeline, not help a demon!" Uncle hissed. His complaints were cut short for Jackie stuck his finger in Uncle's face to shush him. In usual circumstances, Uncle would've struck Jackie on the head, but oddly enough he didn't.

"Demon or not, you must learn to get along with her. She helped us take down Drago once and for all! If you have any personal issues with Delya, you and her should get together and talk about it."

Uncle crossed his arms over his chest, giving his nephew an exasperated look. He was considering giving Jackie his infamous Uncle slap, but that would only prove to Jackie that he was being unreasonable. He let out a reluctant exhale.

"I will deal with the de—er, Delya later. There is more research to be done on the Nine Jewels of Samuel Akin!"

* * *

"Unh..." Drago moaned as he opened one eye opened and then the other. The demon found himself lying in a small, thin cot lying on cold, metal floor. He felt its coldness through the mat, along with the chill of the air breathing on his sweaty back.

"Where am I?" Drago muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He shuddered, feeling cold because of his soaked shirt.

"It all of a sudden got colder," the demon shuddered as he tried to look at his surroundings. The room he was in was almost dark. It was hot thanks to the stored heat in the cell room, but to Drago it was cold.

"What's going on? How'd I get here?" the demon dragon sat up. It took awhile for him to remember the past events. "Am I—**I am**! I am dead, aren't I?"

"You've finally awakened."

For the first time in the longest, Drago was able to hear someone else's voice beside his own and his deranged relatives. He sat up, struggling to narrow his eyes at the person he was talking to. It was hard to keep his eyelids open, for the light was so strong Drago was beginning to think he was going blind.

"Who are you and what did you do to me?" the son of Shendu trembled. The pending question came out from Drago's trembling throat. "Am I dead?"

The bellowing voice laughed. "You would be if it wasn't for my assistants summoning you. When we took you out from the Demon Void, you were passed out. You must've lived through the hell of an experience."

The chilling sound of Drago's captor's voice made him jump once again. The person who was talking to him did so outside his holding cell. "So I've noticed. Who are you again?"

The mysterious man seemed to be gazing into Drago's crimson eyes. The man's eyes were grey and piercing. Drago would never admit it aloud, but it was starting to frighten him. "You look...promising. What is your name, demon?"

"I believe I asked you first, twice!" Drago retorted. He knew he wasn't supposed to snappy with someone he met, but to Drago something didn't feel right about the stranger.

"And I believed I asked but a simple question, so there is no reason for unnecessary anger. Tell you what; if you tell me your name I will tell you mine. Easy as that."

Drago took a deep breath and stared at the man that was most troubling to him. "I am Drago, son of Shendu, the fire demon. Your turn."

"See? When we all cooperate, things go much better. My name is Tân. I am a chi wizard. You, my fiery friend, are stuck in your room for now."

"So why am I here?"

The wizard coughed and fixed his clothes before talking. "You see, my fellow wizards have brought you here to help us on a mission that is very important to my partner. We brought you here because there are nine gems that need to be found around the world. We also needed stronger muscle like you, as I can see," Tân looked at Drago's green and scaly muscles.

The son of Shendu took what Tân did into thought. He placed his hand on his chin with a tiny smirk. "What's in it for me?"

"We have already done you one favor; releasing you from the Demon Netherworld. I don't need to imagine what you have suffered in your prison. May I ask what happened?"

Drago felt his heartbeat grow silent. The blood rushed to his head in embarrassment. He was thinking about his defeat to his enemy. "What do you think? I was close to ruling the world when a man and his friends stopped me with their magic and whatnot. Same for the rest of my family thrown in there."

Tân stroked his chin and made a dim grim. "Do you know how long ago that was?"

Drago shrugged. "There's no record of time so I'm not sure. I could've been in the Netherworld for centuries."

Tân nodded, intently listening to the demon dragon. "Perhaps...you know the man who sent you to awful place?"

Drago snapped his attention to the wizard, whose aged eyes weren't as piercing anymore. To Drago, they were almost…friendly. He turned away, glaring at the stone wall and let out a snort. "Know him? He might as well call himself the 'Archenemy of All Evil'. His name was Chan—Jackie Chan—and he was an archaeologist with impossible skills. He's pretty well known for defeating a lot of demons. He had a little annoying niece named Jade who tagged along with him, an annoying old man who was a good chi wizard—."

"You said 'good chi wizard'?" Tân quirked, taking mental note of this. Drago nodded.

"As I was saying, the old man was a chi wizard and he had a big, freak show apprentice. Chan had some other friends too but I don't know them and don't care for their names. Well, except for one man named Captain Black who happened to be bald," Drago said. His eyes looked lost and his face remorseful as he tried to forget a troubling thought. "There was a girl with me and she was a demon also. I had known her since I was little. She had these amazing purple eyes with nice and thick hair. Man, did she have a super fiery attitude or what?" The demon dragon laid back against the stone wall to nervously laugh.

Tân took the time to write down the descriptions of Drago's past lover on a small sheet of paper he pulled out from his pocket. "When was the last time you've seen her?"

Drago felt himself getting hotter in his head. He raised his voice. "Like I said, there is no record of time in the Demon Netherworld so I wouldn't know. The last time I checked, she kinda hated me. Even before, he didn't seem to like me too well. I'm not going to lie; I was an ass to her a couple of times but I don't think I was too harsh," the son of Shendu replied. He had to think about all the times him and Delya interacted. He didn't remember much from those conversations.

"If you work for my business partner and I, you can get the chance to destroy your enemies and triumph once and for all," Tân said slyly. He didn't need to look inside Drago's cell to see Drago stand up and puts his face on the bars.

"You can help me?"

"Oh yes. I will destroy this "Chan" and his family and you can go forward Delya. Just work for my partner and I and we will take care of you from there," the dark wizard looked up.

Drago turned towards the cell door. "What?"

"All you have to do is pledge your allegiance to me and I will take good care of you. You get a free place to stay at. All you have to do is search for the gems of Samuel Akin the Irish's' magic gemstones and we will be on good terms."

Drago backed away from the cell's bars and stared intensely at his captor. "Hell no! I can take care of myself. Secondly, work for you? I don't think so. I'm a leader and I can see that that position's been taken. Either you add me as a partner or count me out!" Drago declared, pointing his thumb to his chest. As a child, the demon dragon liked being in charge. Even if it was for something as small as a game, Drago liked to be in charge. He hated being told what to do because in his eyes, his ideas were usually the best. If they weren't good ideas, then you were probably better off as a servant.

Tân had suspected for this to happen. He kept his unimpressed face still, deciding on whether or not to have a serious reaction. "I'll give you time to rethink your answer. When I come back tomorrow, either you choose the right answer or—"

"Or what? You're going to zap me with your dark magic?" Drago chortled. "Whatever spell you decide to throw at me, I can use a spell to repel it," Drago blew him off, taking a seat back on his cot.

"Demons," Tân cackled. "You always underestimate chi wizards, especially the ones who are powerful enough to banish you." The demon scoffed, turning his back on the ZIK chi wizard.

He continued. "That's why you were banished in the first place, am I correct? Instead of properly studying your enemy, you decided to use that time to excessively celebrate your victory."

"So what? Maybe I wanted to celebrate my victory that was meant to be," the demon dragon snorted. "And I did study the Chans pretty well."

"Not well enough to get sent in the Demon Netherworld." Drago released a full snort of smoke from his nostrils, directing the ash at his newfound enemy. He squeezed the metal bars of the cell, giving a narrowing glower to the chi wizard.

"You better leave before I get angry. You don't want to see an angry demon dragon," Drago growled. While Drago was unconscious, Tân had placed a spell on the cell to prevent Drago from using his fire chi. The fire demon knew it and didn't like it.

"Oh yes, I'll leave. I will leave and come back tomorrow morning to ask again. You will answer correctly next time or I'll make sure you regret it dearly," the dark wizard threatened. His cane glowed the signature dark chi aura, filling the cell with a flash of dark blue light. When the flash disappeared, the man was gone. Drago was unfazed though. He backed away from the cell bars, flashing his demon eyes to the outside world. He threw himself onto his mat and smiled his eerie toothy smile.

"Yeah right. You can try."

* * *

"Hey, is Kimikaz there?" Delya requested. She was standing before an accountant at her front desk where the woman worked. It was almost 11:00 and the place was empty as a desert. Even the accountant was getting her things so she could to go home. The accountant didn't look at Delya and said, "We're closing."

"But this is important!"

"Little girl, you do realize that it's an hour before midnight, right? I'm trying to get home to get in some hours and sleep. As you can see, no one is here. Therefore, you have no point of coming here."

"I do have a point if I'm coming an hour before midnight—," Delya stared down to look at the lady's name tag. "Taylor. Just tell me where he is already."

"Seriously kid. You won't want to mess with the man when he's trying to go home. He gets angry. Real angry. I suggest you leave now and come back tomorrow," Taylor patted Delya's back consolingly.

"I'm twenty. I'm not kid, I'm a law certified adult," Delya lied with a roll of her eyes. She was actually 920 years, but that was her little secret. Taylor blinked, lowering her glasses at the young woman.

"Aren't you supposed to be in college or something?"

Delya raised her eyebrow at the question. "Say what now?"

"I'm talking that as a 'no'. Well,_ lady_, I'm sorry. I said come back tomorrow and I mean it. No exceptions!"

"Can't you just please please please _PLEASE_ let me talk to Kimikaz? It's not that serious," argued Delya. She was getting up with the whole ordeal and was about to explode at any minute.

In silence, Taylor loudly popped her gum trying to decide what to do. "If you're really eager to see the boss, go on the second floor and it's the second door on the left. But I'm warning you! Don't get on his nerves!" Taylor pointed to a door on the left.

"Thank you so much!" Delya nodded and quickly dashed off before the accountant could change her mind. Taylor shook his head slowly, then turned back to her own work. She slung her purse around her

_I didn't know Kimikaz was cranky around this time of night, _the demon dame speculated as she reached the top of the stairs. As she stopped to catch her breath, she glanced down the long hallway before her. The walls looked like they were freshly painted with cream color.

"Hello? Is there anybody up here?" she echoed with a whisper.

"Yes Taylor?" Kimikaz stepped out of his office with his suitcase in hand. His eyes were closed so he didn't see who he was talking to. "What makes you think coming to bother me right now is a good id-! Hey you!" The businessman stopped his ranting mid-sentence when he opened his eyes. Once he saw it wasn't Taylor, Kimikaz's face brightened going from tired to cheerful. The sudden change concerned Delya a little, but she disregarded it. "Delya, is it?"

"Yeah. Great memory," Delya nodded in approval.

"I may be an elder, but my memory is still kickin'. So what brings you here?" the Golden Rainbow CEO closed the door behind him.

"I'll try to be as brief as possible," Delya almost stammered. "Remember when I first met you today with my aunt?"

Kimikaz nodded slowly, looking lost. The memory of seeing Evangeline disturbed him. He wanted to say something about her at that instant, but didn't want to come off as insulting. "What about your...**lovely aunt**?" The executive coughed out the compliment.

Delya felt a ting of embarrassment as she could feel the blood rise to her head. "Well it's a long story short but my aunt disappeared. I know I just met you and don't know a lot about you, but have you seen or heard anything suspicious in San Fran today?" she asked.

Kimikaz frowned, shaking Delya's hand in sympathy. "Right now San Francisco has been oddly quiet. If something had happened, I would've known since I do a lot of work around the city," the man noted with a scratch of his beard. "Did she happen to disappear?"

Delya scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Err...something like that. I just wanted to ask you because you were the last person to have seen her in public and I guessed, since you're a people-person, you might've seen something. It's okay if you haven't though."

"Let's walk and talk, shall we?" Kimikaz led Delya into an elevator. She face-palmed, mentally kicking herself for wasting her breath running up the stairs. She stepped in and waited for Kimikaz to step in with her. Delya pressed the button to lead to Floor 1. Once the doors closed, the demon dame was close to losing her wits.

"Please say you'll attempt to help me! You're a millionaire, you have a lot of connections in the world, you're a nice guy! I don't know what to do if Aunti's not with me! I'll be alone and I hate being alone in my house!" the girl whimpered. She would've grabbed Kimikaz's collar if she didn't remember that Kimikaz was still an acquaintance to her.

"Have you told any relatives or friends or a partner about Evangeline's disappearance?" Kimikaz continued to question.

"I told some of my friends, but we didn't really have any relatives and I don't have a partner," Delya blushed. A thought of Drago flashed in her mind before she forced her brain to forget about him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I wasn't trying to assume anything, darling," the businessman quickly apologized.

"It's alright. I turned twenty last month," Delya lied and blushed. The elevator reached Floor 1 and the doors opened back to the Golden Rainbow entrance. The exit was but a few feet away.

"Hey, where'd Taylor go?" the businessman looked around. He turned to Delya with a confused look on her face.

"You mean the accountant that was here earlier? She left in quite a hurry. Taylor warned me not to talk to you because you had a bad temper. I think she was just exaggerating," the young woman shrugged. "So could you try to help out my cause?" Delya stuck out her hand. Kimikaz didn't take long to accept the open invitation with a firm grasp.

"You got yourself a deal, little lady. When I'm not busy doing personal work, I'll send out a personal search party using my personal bodyguards. That's fine with you?" This came from a generous Kimikaz.

"Am I allowed to do something probably bizarre to you?" the demon dame beamed. Kimikaz raised his brow.

"...Of course?"

Delya swooped over to give the businessman a tight hug around his waist. She couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.

"Thank you _thank you_ so much! I wouldn't know who to turn to if my aunt hadn't have bumped into you on the street!" Delya gave the man a proud salute before heading out of the lobby. She dashed off down the dark streets, waiting until she was away from anyone's earshot. She looked around her surroundings before letting out a shrill of laughter.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Aunti will be safe! I'm a genius! Uh huh! I'm so smart!" the yound woman said in her celebratory sing-song voice.

What the girl saw on the outside of Kimikaz was a kind and generous gentleman. On the inside, his heart was black as coal and he cared for no one but himself and his goal. When the Delya left, his smile turned upside down as he picked up the cell phone from his shirt pocket.

"Hello? Oh don't worry. I'm heading over there right now."


	6. Chapter 6

The next day...

It was a particularly quiet morning in the Chan house—one of the first in a while. Jade had finished her cereal, Jackie was drinking his morning tea, Tohru was making pancakes and Uncle was in the library. If a pin had dropped on the kitchen floor, the family would've been able to hear it. That morning, Tohru had learned about Eva's disappearance the previous night and was also distraught over the loss.

"It's morning," the Japanese man muttered. "And no one has indicated Evangeline has returned." Tohru bit his lip, staring out the window.

"Yes," Jackie mumbled. "I can only imagine how much pain Delya is feeling."

Jade, usually vivacious, was sitting in her chair staring at the table. "So much for the idea about Aunt Eva taking a midnight jog. It was a pretty good idea too." The Chinese girl frowned.

"How low people will go to hurt our loved ones," rasped Tohru. He tightly gripped the spatula he was holding, bending it in half. Jade and Jackie looked up at the Japanese giant.

"I apologize," Tohru bowed his head. He set the bent spatula down beside him. "That was uncalled for."

"It's alright, Big T. We're all feeling sore," Jade made a small smirk at her friend. "Besides, that was pretty cool."

"Tohru is right. All the years we've been doing our magical hunt, someone always is getting hurt. Uncle and Captain Black was hurt by Valmont. Jade was hurt by Shendu. El Toro by El Chupacabra. Delya by Drago. Now it's Evangeline. I never would've guessed she would end up as a target," the archaeologist stared into his tea. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head.

"Maybe_ Drago_ is behind this," came the archaeologist's claim. Jade and Tohru snapped their attention to Jackie with looks of confusion.

"Say what?" said Jade, breaking the awkward silence.

"What if Drago was behind Evangeline's disappearance. After Delya turned his back on him and got him sent to the Demon Void, he's getting revenge by using Aunt Eva to grab Delya's attention," Jackie continued to make his claim. Jade and thoru exchanged blank glances before turning back to Jackie.

"Mm, I'm not so sure Jackie," Tohru intervened. He inhaled deeply, knowing what he was going to say he didn't like. "Drago has done enough to Eva when keeping Delya captive and lying to her. After Delya learned the truth, I don't believe Drago will be thinking about hurting Eva again. Not while Delya is around."

"Yeah. Drago wants attention but he's not gonna act completely brainless to get it. Plus, if Drago did come back from the Demon Netherworld why didn't Uncle say anything about it?" Jade chimed in. She placed her hand on Jackie's and said," Let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

Jackie moved to take another sip of his tea but hesitated and put the cup back down. He knew Jade wasn't trying to shoot down hope on purpose. "If it's not Drago, then who?"

"Jackie! Uncle needs you here! And bring some tea!" Uncle hollered from his library, making his family jump.

"Uncle, we need to finish our breakfast, " Jackie made a tired response.

"Your breakfast can wait! The forces of darkness do not! That is why you must come here NOW!" Uncle demanded. Jackie let out a long sigh, pushing his unfinished breakfast to the side. To avoid from getting any hits on the head early, Jackie stood up. Jade and Tohru followed, but with slightly better attitudes.

"I hope this is important," the archaeologist uttered.

* * *

The son of Shendu sat criss-cross, glaring at the darkness that swarmed around him. One reason Drago had gotten little sleep was because of the cold temperature in his cell. The other reason was because even though Drago didn't want to be worried about Tân, it still got him thinking about what the mortal could do. Tân _did_ look like he knew what he was doing as the 'head wizard', so he claimed.

"I'm hungry," Drago rubbed his stomach. He could hear how ferocious his stomach was grumbling.

"Hey! Your prisoner needs food! He's starving!" he cried. When he looked up, Tân was standing before him silent. He was holding a tray of mini waffles, orange juice, an omelet, homemade yogurt, cut fruit in a bowl and eggs. The smell aroused Drago, making him stand up.

"**Food**!" the dragon raved, tightly holding the cell bars. Tân didn't flinch when Drago lunged toward his cell door at the sight of food; he was expecting it.

"Aren't you awake," Tân taunted. His elderly eyes could see the drool dripping from the corner's of the demon dragon's mouth.

"Have you thought out our deal?" Tân sneered. Drago didn't answer, for he was busy furiously stuffing his face. When you couldn't find much to eat in demon jail, you'd eat just about anything. Drago briefly paused his eating spree to give a withering look to the dark wizard.

"Maybe," he uttered.

"It's yes or no. There is no other option. I gave you enough time to think about your answer!" Tân growled. His aged fists were balled, ready to strike.

"I've had my answer since yesterday. Read my lips, old man," Drago said. He mouthed the word 'no'. No sound was needed for Tân to understand what Drago had said. The demon dragon continued to stuff his face.

"It was just yesterday you were rescued from the clutches of death itself. But I don't understand why you still are stubborn to the people who saved your life. Looks like I will have to teach you a lesson," Tân quipped. He chanted a spell and instantly the food that was held in Drago's grasp disappeared in a puff of smoke. So did the food in his mouth and belly, for all that poured out from Drago's mouth was Tân's chi smoke. Drago beat his chest as he coughed violently.

"What did you do with my breakfast?" he demanded. Tân opened the cell door and stepped inside, slamming it behind him. Drago moved the tray to the side as he cautiously backed away from the wizard. He knew a fight was about to go down.

"I tried to be as simple as I can and you refuse," the man hissed, getting closer to Drago. The son of Shendu could feel his knuckles turn white. "Now you will pay the price."

"Unless you want me to beat you into a bloody pulp, I suggest you go the other way," Drago said. He was waiting for the right moment to lay the perfect hit on Tân so he could escape.

"You can try all you want but I know your plan. I'm not some dense fool," Tân darkly chuckled. From his long sleeve, he pulled out his magic scepter. The top of the cane began glowing an iridescent red.

"If you will not work with me, then you are my enemy." Tân pointed his scepter and fired ahead. Drago had ducked, and was a little slow at it. A good part of the blast hit Drago's left shoulder. Without realizing it, his tail swept under Tân's feet, making him crash to the ground. His cane rolled away towards the open door.

"Aren't you a clever lizard?" Tân growled with a foreign curse. The comment wasn't meant for Drago to hear, but he heard it anyway.

"I know I am. Was that the 'vengeance' I was supposed to get for turning you down?" Drago taunted, holding his pained shoulder. Through his agonizing pain, the son of Shendu managed to crack a grin at the dark wizard. He knew what he was saying was getting to Tân 's head.

"I'm not going to be the only one who's going to be punishing you. Seeing your attitude yesterday, I had half a mind to call in some security back up if anything like this went wrong. Those security guards should be coming this way right now, along with my business partner," Drago's face expression changed from pained and amused to angry and confused.

"Any last words?" the dark wizard bragged with a winning smile painted from ear to ear, still lying on the floor.

"Yeah," the demon dragon grunted, taking a hard grip on his burnt shoulder. "See you later!" Drago made his move. He made a daring attempt to step over Tân's fallen body, instead stepping on the older man's chest. Tân let out a cry in pain, struggling to take Drago's foot off of him. In retaliation, the head wizard grabbed the dragon's ankle and pressed his Achilles' heel.

"Agh!" the son of Shendu fell to his knees. He snarled at Tân. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"If I'm going down, you're going down with me," Tân proceeded to pull more of Drago toward him as he started to get up. "Because of your injury, you won't get very far hiding from anybody," the chief wizard punched the demon dragon in the injured shoulder.

"And I suppose you know a lot about that, hmm? Probably hiding from humans constantly so they wouldn't trap you and call you as their own?!" the dark wizard continued to taunt, fully standing up. Drago ignored the well-directed insult and kicked him in his stomach, which made Tân cry out louder. The Vietnamese man feel to his knees once more and to his side.

"Oomph!"

While the dark wizard curled up in a fetal position, he let go of Drago. He lunged for his cane, which felt cold.

"What do you think you're doing, half-demon brat?!" Tân hissed.

"Doing what any brat would do in a trapped situation," the demon sneered. He pointed the magical cane at the door and blasted. The explosion shook up the small cell, startling Tân.

"That old thing?" Drago mocked. He threw it down, letting the magical stick roll toward the chi wizard.

"And one more thing," the fire demon said as he locked eyes with the man he had defeated. He pointed a scaly, lit up finger at the dark wizard. "Don't you ever call me a half-demon again if you value your life."

With that, Drago took a big step out of his cell and deeply inhaled. What had greeted him was the sound of what sounded like a police siren echoing through the long hallways.

"Free at last," the fire demon took in a deep breath of fresh air.

"Alert! Alert! A prisoner has escaped! Lock the premises! Notify all security!" a man's voice echoed outside. The man's voice combined with the sirens were giving Drago a slight headache. The sound of yelling and running footsteps were everywhere and it sounded like it was coming closer.

"Ha! It is **I** who will have the last laugh once again when you are captured again and put in solitary!" Tân managed to cough.

"And that's where you're wrong," Drago taunted. He jumped and grabbed the top of the cell's frame, pushing himself up to touch the wall. Once he was sure he had a firm grasp, Drago climbed upwards until he found himself looking down upside down.

"Nobody can catch what nobody can see."

* * *

"What is it this time?" Jackie said. He stepped into the library to be blinded by green light coming from Uncle's direction. He went from being annoyed to bewildered. "What's going on?"

In Uncle's hand, his blow fish was glowing green. The color scattered across the room as if it were a glowing disco ball. There was an image of a whitish-clear, brilliant cut diamond spinning around.

"We start new journey against forces of darkness today. We are going to be searching for the Diamond, then once we retrieve gem..."

"Once we retrieve the gemstone, we will find what power it possesses. We have done this before with the talismans, Uncle. This is nothing new," a frustrated Jackie threw his hands in the air. He received a hard slap on the head from Uncle. So much for Jackie's morning wish.

"Do not be so sure! This is much more difficult than finding and using talismans like nothing! For the magic in the jewel to work, we must take out the dark magic protection spell from the gem," Uncle scolded his nephew.

"And what happens if we don't?" Jade asked in a voice of curiosity.

"If exposed to the gem for a long time, the evil can corrupt you. If not that, then there are many other unforeseen consequences," the good chi wizard mused.

Jade blinked. "Hunh?"

"Didn't you hear Uncle explain in the story where Samuel Akin cursed his gemstones so no one could use them?!" Uncle screeched.

"Oh yeah, I remember now! Never mind," Jade rubbed the back of her head. The image of the sparkling diamond changed to the scene of a grand, opening entrance with many people coming in and out.

Uncle grunted, but continued. "At the time the spell was first cast, the spell was very strong and creating a counter spell was nearly impossible. With time, Akin did not renew his spell to keep it updated. Now the spell on the gemstones isn't as strong as before, but it's strong enough to corrupt someone's chi over periods of time."

"So this diamond is in the Cape Town Diamond Museum in Cape Town, South Africa," Jackie narrowed his eyes toward the image. He had visited the mine once on a trip for the university a year before the magic pandemonium started. He turned to his uncle with a question that was burning in his head. "We should leave now, shouldn't we?"

"Of course we are leaving right now! What do you think Uncle was waiting for?! Call Eva and Delya and tell them to come right away!"

Jade, Jackie and Tohru cringed, knowing Uncle was going to say something of the like. They would've guessed Uncle of all people wouldn't forget something as serious as Evangeline's disappearance.

"Uncle..." Jackie's face softened. He intently stared at the floor, looking up only a couple of times to give his elder relative a suggestive look. Tohru stayed to Jackie's left and stayed silent. His face was painted with bitterness all over.

"Uncle don't you remember yesterday..." the Chinese girl trailed off. She began to rock back and forth slowly on her heels. She didn't want to say too much because the truth hurt her.

"What do you mean?" the elder man stared at his quiet family. It only took a matter of seconds for a light-bulb went off in Uncle's head, now understanding what Jade and Jackie were getting at. Uncle had denied Evangeline's disappearance to the extent where he had pushed the idea out of his head. When he finally remembered, Uncle managed to maintain his normal stoic expression.

"Evangeline's disappearance n-not important for now. We must go to South Africa and find this diamond. I will worry about Evangeline later." Uncle began picking up his things and throwing them in a small backpack.

"Right," Jackie nodded. From his back khaki pocket, Jackie took out his small red cellphone and began dialing numbers. "As for you Jade, you must stay here and keep watch of the house."

"But Jackie, you **gotta **let me come! This time there's no school, no homework, nothing that I can do to pass the time while you guys get to have fun! Are you willing to let a 14 year-old watch Uncle's shop? What if a break-in happens and you aren't there to fight them off?" Jade demonstrated by showing off her martial artist skills.

"That's why we installed Section 13 cameras around the shop to prevent stuff like that from happening," Jackie chuckled as he rubbed his niece's hair playfully. It was, in fact, his decision to suggest.

"That's not the point," Jade whined. "If you let me go, I promise I won't get involved in the butt-kicking action."

This caught Jackie's attention as hit 'End' on his phone. "Alright fine. But remember; you promised not to get into any action." Jade nodded her head quickly, as if she were a dog obeying her master.

"The forces of darkness better watch out for the Chan Clan!" the girl pumped her fist in the air.

* * *

"Finally I'm done," the demon huffed as she plopped herself down on the floor. Delya was in her aunt's room, cleaning up and packing whatever leftover clothes Aunti left during her 'vacation time off'.

"Is this really what I've been doing all day? Cleaning?" Delya asked herself. She knew she was doing it out of boredom. The only time Delya decided to take a break was to go the bathroom and get a light breakfast. Other than that, she had isolated herself to her guardian's room.

"Aunti hasn't come back. I guess that means she's officially a missing person now," the demon sighed. She was happy he was gone for good, but felt a slight sadness because he was sent to the Demon Netherworld. Delya knew for Drago, it was his first time.

"Wait...what if Drago is behind Aunti's disappearance? Yeah, what if it _is_ him?" the demon dame balled her fists together so tightly. Saying Drago's name aloud made Delya feel hot on the inside. She placed a hand to her chin as she went deep into thought.

"When Drago kidnapped me, he inadvertently left clues behind of that fight we had. Later on, Eva told me with her magic she was able to tell Drago was behind my disappearance. Besides, why would he come for Aunti if he's done it once before and fail? Besides, Drago's got sent to the void on a one-way trip. He can't simply come back like that. Right?" Delya scratched her head, feeling torn in her predicament.

"Why is there so much trouble in my life?" the demon dame whined. The sound of her wails slightly echoed in the room. "And why am I talking to myself?"

On Eva's night desk to the left, the relaxing demon heard a beep, then the sound of a female voice she knew. "Hey! This is Delya on the phone!" the sounds of giggling could be heard.

"Stop laughing! You're ruining the tape!" Aunti lightly scolded her niece. A boisterous laugh coming from her followed. "This is Evangeline. We weren't at the phone because we're either doing something important or we're too lazy to pick up the phone."

Listening to the tape made Delya unconsciously laugh. It was an accidental tradition Eva and Delya picked up everytime they heard their voicemail. Delya had heard it so many times, she was able to imitate the voicemail word by word. "Please leave your name and number and we'll come back to you."

"Delya, I know you're there and I understand if you didn't want answer the phone."

"Jackie?"

"Yes, it's Jackie." He replied, as if he was having a conversation with Delya face to face. "I hope you're not too busy doing anything else at the moment during your...erm..._grieving_ moment. Right now, we need you. We're going to South Africa to retrieve the magical White Diamond. Jade, Tohru, Uncle and I are heading over to Section 13 as we speak. Please be there as soon as possible. If you can, call me back at 233-206-2458," the archaeologist finished.

"Hmph, I don't want to go," the female grunted. The time was 12:30. If bored cleaning was what she was going to do for the rest of the day, she'd better find something else fast. Delya grabbed her keys and stuffed them in her back pocket.

"Alright, I'm coming. This better be important."

* * *

"The prisoner couldn't have gone far!" Drago heard a lady say. While upside down he happened to find an open vent big enough for him to fit in.

"How do I know which way to get out of here?" the son of Shendu asked himself. This was a pretty tough challenge for him since it seemed like he was going in circles. The vent was pretty big, so it gave him enough room to move around a little bit. His shoulder was still pounding from the blast Tân had given him.

"That bastard got me good," he groaned, clutching his shoulder. As he crawled further, Drago found himself at a four-way intersection.

"We haven't found the dragon yet, sir," one of the security guards said. The son of Shendu stopped moving for he was directly above the voice he was hearing.

"I knew that little dragon runt couldn't be trusted," a different sinister voice said. "I will take care of the stowaway. Taking him out of the Demon Netherworld was partly my idea."

_Wait, who's this guy?_ Drago grunted as he sat still. He could've sworn that if he moved even a little, the humans below would be able to hear.

"This creature must be smart, so obviously he wouldn't be anywhere to be seen...did you check the vents? The vents are pretty big for a person, let alone a demon his size," the voice added.

"Good idea sir," the guards quickly congratulated their boss before marching away. Drago could hear the sound of Tân's labored breathing coming closer and closer to his area. This made him feel somewhat proud of his win.

"Are you okay? What happened?" the voice asked. It sounded soothing yet course and frustrated.

"Kim, the dragon was smarter that I thought. He was able to lure me in his cell, snatch my cane and escape," Tân heaved. "He's probably long gone by now."

"I'm surprised you're not dead," Drago softly cackled.

"I doubt it. If so, we would know since this 'Drago' is a destructive force of nature. He's still somewhere, struggling to get out," 'Kim' concluded.

"Besides, you have other matters to attend to. The White Diamond has been located in the Cape Town Diamond Museum in South Africa, thanks to the help of our guest," Kim chuckled.

"This Kim guy is probably the business partner Tân was talking about yesterday, " Drago shivered. "If Tân is messed up, I'd hate to find out about this 'Kim'."

"Before you get on the jet, pick up some painkillers and an ice pack from my office to take with you. By the time you get to South Africa, the pain should have resided."

"I understand," the dark wizard rasped. The click-clack of Tân scepter was faintly heard in the hallways before finally disappearing.

_I should have broken his cane too_, Drago mentally kicked himself. _No time for regrets now_. The son of Shendu didn't waste any time moving from one part of a vent to another. Before he knew it, another corner of ventilation was getting in his way.

"This place is so big, I'm going to grow old trying to find my way out," he growled. Not only was Drago hungry, thirsty and fed up, but the headache he was having was turning serious.

"All I need is a bed, some medicine and some rest," Drago said as he tried to concentrate on his objective. Because of his aching shoulder, it hurt for Drago to move his left arm.

Drago continued on his journey, not daring to stop. He could feel the sweat begin to bead up at his head and the hot air circulating hit his body. The demon dragon didn't know how long he was stuck in the vent, but if he had to guess he would've guessed for about a good thirty minutes.

"Wait a minute. I smell something," the son of Shendu stopped everything. Drago's nose was able to help him track down the demon chi, so he knew how powerful his sense of smell was. Before he knew it, he tightly pinched his nose and stuck out his tongue in a disgusted manner.

"The smell doesn't smell so good. Reminds me of...of...trash!" the dragon screeched. His frown turned into a menacing smile. "Wait! If I smell garbage, that means there's an exit around here somewhere."

With every step Drago took, the smell of trash grew stronger. Finally Drago knew he reached a dead end.

"Dead end my ass!" By now, the youthful dragon was getting tired of being held captive by crazy maniacs. Drago was held captive for less than a day and he was already sure that if he stayed any longer, he would grow crazy from insanity. He put as much force as he could into his right fist and punched the dead-ended vent. He punched once and it left a huge dent. The second time made the dent a little bigger. Now the third time created a tear Drago could stretch to become bigger.

"Three times the charm eh?" the demon dragon smirked at his feat. He climbed out and jumped/fell from the ventilation space into the garbage can. Luckily the many trash bags cushioned Drago's fall. Instead of being frustrated, he was happy he was out and alive. He laughed at his victory.

"They thought they could catch me."

* * *

_Maybe some travel and a some action will calm me down,_ Delya pushed a strand of hair out of her face._ 'Seize the day', she said._

Delya strolled down the stars of Section 13, taking in every sight of the new building. It wasn't finished yet, but the demon dame could tell the new Section 13 is going to be bigger than the original. From the stairs, Delya saw Captain Black talking to Jackie as Uncle and Tohru were boarding their airplane. She tightly clutched her handbag. Jackie jerked his head in Delya's direction, hearing the thunk of her walking down the stairs.

"I'm glad you got my message. We were just about to leave," came Jackie's comment. Delya nodded, a tired smile on her face.

"Yeah I did. And for the record I wasn't depressed. Just...tired," the demon closed her eyes and wiped them. Everyone knew this wasn't true, but didn't want to say anything.

"According to the deal you've made with Jackie, I will send out every available agent to find her," a sincere Captain Black said with his hands in his pocket.

Delya put her hand to her hand in a salute form. "Thank you."

"I just wanted to say that you aren't alone. When I heard the news about Evangeline's disappearance, I couldn't sleep," Black continued.

"Oh man. I can't wait to find the person behind this 'cuz I'm gonna—" Delya began to fiercely crack her knuckles. She stopped when she noticed the concerned look on her friend's faces among her violent outburst. She set her hands by her sides.

"Sorry. I-I didn't know where that came from," she muttered. Delya went on to change the conversation as she turned to Jackie, "So in your message, you said the Diamond was in South Africa?"

"Yes, thanks to Uncle's tracking device. It would make sense, as South Africa is known for its' diamond abundance," Jackie explained. "Before we can use its power, we must do a spell to remove the dark chi protection spell so no one is hurt by its dark magic."

"Wait a minute. This didn't happen when we found the talismans. The demon chi and Oni masks maybe, but the others weren't that much of a trouble," Capt. Black rubbed his head. He was known for having trouble understanding magic. He was better than his first encounter though, for the Section 13 captain was learning.

"So what you're saying is it's like the demon chi," Delya pushed the memory to her tongue, for she had almost forgotten what it was. "But with the right guidance, it won't be so "demony"."

The archaeologist said. "As we go farther along, it should be easier to understand. Anyway, are you ready to go?" Jackie signaled to the plane standing behind them. Delya put on her courageous face with her arms crossed over her chest.

"As ready as I'll ever be."


	7. Chapter 7

"I hate this place **so** much," Drago complained. He was walking along the hot sidewalk of San Francisco. Thanks to his breakout from ZIK, Drago was forced to be disguised as a human. If he had remained in his dragon form, the results would have been catastrophic. His eyes were dark crimson. The hair was a lustrous black with the tips of his hair dyed green. To hide himself better from the public eye, Drago stole an over-sized, dragon hoodie from a store nearby. The son of Shendu hated disguising himself into the species demons despised the most, but he didn't want to risk capture and another one-way ticket to the Netherworld.

"And I really hate how I can't find a place to hide out at If I can't find some place soon, I'm going to look homeless staying in the junkyard. What was I thinking of staying in a dirty place like that before?" Drago pushed his hanging hair out of his face and to the side. "I should've listened more when the Ice Crew and Delilah were wanting to move to a better hideout."

_Why are these women staring at me so hard?_ Drago thought. To his right, two girls who looked to be about 18 ogled at him with their dreamy eyes. The young women kept their distance from Drago, but the staring made Drago feel like the women were standing up close to him.

The son of Shendu pushed his hair out of his face once more and turned to face the young adolescents. "Has anyone told you that it's rude to stare?" he hinted, hoping the females would pick up on what he was trying to say. The girls seemed to be paying no mind.

"Not if it's anyone as handsome as you," Girl #1 replied, intensifying her stare.

"...Is that a compliment?"

"A guy as cute as you should know that that was _definitely_ a compliment," Girl #2 added on. For the first time since Drago had escaped, he was felt hot. Well, hot on the inside.

"I'll be going now," a flustered Drago muttered didn't have to think twice to head into the alley behind him.

"Note to self; steal a bigger hoodie so it'll hide my face," the demon dragon noted. The alleyway was long and dark, for the tall building shielded the area from the unforgiving sun. Even in the shade, Drago felt the sun's dangerous rays hitting him.

_Maybe I can find out where the Ice Crew live at, I could stay with them_, Drago thought, then rolled his eyes. He remembered. _Oh wait. Those three are traitors._

"Section 13 is obviously out the question. What about Delya—wait, does she even own a house?" the son of Shendu stopped walking to take in his thought. He deeply inhaled and froze, his demonic sense smelling something most familiar to him.

"Hey...another demon was in the area," Drago's eyes went wide in realization. He turned around once again to see no one.

"The only available demon I know is Delya. Her demon scent mixed in with her jasmine smell is fading...she must've left to go somewhere. Probably with Chan," Drago scoffed. The name alone gave him shills as the memories flooded back to him.

"If I can follow Delya's scent trail, then I can find wherever she's staying at and maybe hide out for a while!" Drago began to smile, but it went away when a troubling thought crossed his mind.

"The only problem is that her annoying aunt "Evangeline" will be with Delya. Eh, I'll just sneak in their house from the back and knock her out. No biggie," Drago shrugged. He ran out the alley and onto the street, finding himself surrounding by bustling people. He let out a toothy grin.

"This is going to be good."

* * *

"This is going to be **awesome**!" Jade cheered. She was on the edge of her seat, trying to contain her excitement. To the left of her was a quiet and uneasy Delya.

"So why are we going to South Africa again?" Jade turned around to face Jackie. The archaeologist's head was buried in a map, looking at its' details up and down.

"We're looking for a diamond that's supposed to be in one of the mines in the city of Cape Town," came Jackie's response.

"And what's it called?" came another of Jade's questions. She watched how Jackie went from being busy to his trademark confused face as he set down his map to look at his niece. He opened his mouth, only for Uncle's voice to come out. He had his massive book of mythology sprawled out on his lap, his fingers skimming through the words.

"In The Legend of the Gemstones, it never directly stated what the names for the gemstones. However, in the picture it shows its' names such as Diamond, Ruby and such. The best name to give as of now is 'White Diamond'," Uncle explained, fixing his bifocals.

Delya turned around to give the elder light wizard an unimpressed expression, not surprised by the answer. "**Way** original name."

Uncle pointed a gnarled finger in Delya's direction with a look of disdain. "Aiyah! Does it matter over what name Uncle picks? He does not hear any of your suggestions." The elder Chinese man cupped his hand to Delya as if he was trying to hear Delya speak. She could only glare at the man back.

"I wasn't talking about you," the demon dame rolled her eyes and went back to facing forward.

"Now remember: once we retrieve White Diamond we must be careful in how we handle it. If we do anything wrong, it can doom our chi and put it out of balance," came Uncle's advice. Just then, the restroom door swung wide open. It was Tohru, who was working diligently on a tracking spell in place of his former sensei. In his large hand was a green, circled contraption. There was an arrow on it pointing west.

"The White Diamond has been located!" Uncle said with a tense look out his window. "Can this plane land any faster?! Uncle can feel himself turning old every minute the plane is still in the air! We does not have time for playing around!"

* * *

Tân was sitting on the rim of his seat. In one hand he was holding his magical instrument and the other hand was holding his stomach. Lola and Jun were right across from the dark wizard, trying to remain quiet.

"Chief, what do we do once we get inside the coal mine thing?" Jun asked with a roll of his eyes. The young man was obviously very bored.

"We are going to a _diamond_ museum to find the Diamond," Tân replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I can tell someone hasn't been doing enough research, if they did any at all." The remark made Jun scowl at his boss. Instead of thinking of another snarky response, the young man turned towards the plane window.

"So how do you expect us to get past everyone? It's literally the three of us versus the rest of South Africa," Lola pondered aloud. It was clear she had been doing her research, as always. Tân couldn't help but to burst out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked the Filipina. She exchanged glances with Jun and turned back to her boss.

"Come now! It's obvious what we do," the dark scepter began glowing and blinking white. "We are powerful chi wizards. We use magic to find the Diamond. It isn't a difficult task."

"Yes but I'm a good witch, emphasis on 'good'. I-I-I shouldn't be doing this at all. My family wouldn't be too happy if they found out about this...," the young woman frowned. Lola hadn't seen her family in so long, she couldn't remember exactly how long ago it was.

In Tân's ears, he wasn't very happy with what he was hearing. He knew Lola had potential for a light chi witch and wasn't easily ready to just give up by what the girl was saying. Tân nodded understandingly with a simple shrug.

"You're right. You're too innocent for an evil job like this. If you want, we can turn this plane around and give you back to Kimikaz," Tân nodded. Lola was taken aback by her boss' words. She didn't mean to do so, but Jun and Tân could see the Filipina begin to sulk. Tân knew letting people down and disappointment was one of Lola's things she hated to see.

"...B-But that doesn't mean I won't try my best," Lola finished with a timid smile.

"That's cool, but let's just say some random person wants to stop us. What'll we do?" Jun asked curiously.

This question baffled the dark wizard. He, nor Kimikaz, had never really worried about anyone stepping in to interfere with their plans. Even if they did, it was usually people who had dared to stand up for themselves, people much like Jun. In the end, it only took few seconds for the daring to run away in cowardice or to disappear, never to be seen again.

"You don't need to worry about that because I'll only be taking Lola along with me. You'll stay behind on the plane."

"**What**?! _Why_?!" Jun cried. While he didn't show his excitement, Jun was rather elated to be somewhere outside of the United States. It was his first time ever since before the time he started working for ZIK. In between then, Jun couldn't exactly remember how long he had been working. He just worked for the money.

"I only need a dark wizard and a good wizard: you know, to keep the balance. Besides Jun, you should get going on the tracking spell that will remove the dark magic from the gemstone," the chief wizard stroked his cane. "And what about your previous question about a random person wanting to stop us. If anyone wants to play, they can come to me. Now if Lola and/or me ending up losing to the other person's game, that's where you can come in and help our team win."

* * *

"Have you found anything yet?" Captain Black called to his agents. They were spread out all over San Francisco, searching for any sign of Evangeline. They have been out since morning. Many of them were not even aware that Evangeline was missing so when Captain Black told them about the news, many of the agents were torn. Some were concerned for Aunti and for Delya while others, not so much.

"Negative sir. We haven't found anything that ties down to Evangeline. This is the cleanest case I've ever seen in six years. Some of the agents in my team has checked San Francisco surveillance and the only people we've seen during the night is people walking their dogs. They were all walking about 35 miles away from Evangeline's house at the time," Agent Coul [pronounced 'cool'] reported to his boss. As he was finding going about his case, he wondered how a missing case was even possible. Then again, when it pertained to Section 13, magic was possible. "I'm not even sure if this can be a missing case anymore."

"You need to keep looking. At least find a body, blood, clothing. Something of importance," Captain Black said. While his agents were out, the boss was in his office also looking at all the security cameras in the city. Day or night, he couldn't find a trace of anything that looked suspicious. Just cars passing by and people walking to their destination.

"Agent Black, do you see anything?"

"Between 2 and 3 p.m., Delya and Evangeline are walking home and doing some associating with others around them," the captain took a sip of his coffee. It was half bitter, but he didn't feel like changing his cup. This was his third cup of coffee and he was already getting full from it.

"We should just let this case rest and work on other things more important. What was their names, Amiah and Angelina—have only been at Section 13 for a couple of months since Drago's-take-over-the-world thing. We as agents have more important matters than looking at an empty and clean case of a missing person for hours at a time. The aunt probably went somewhere for vacation and forgot to respond. She's old enough to get Alzheimer's—"

"I'll have you know that _Delya_ is worried sick about her aunt _Evangeline_. So are you telling me you want to give up on this case because you don't have the time, or because there's nothing to find? Okay, let's switch this situation. Delya is an agent and your wife had gotten kidnapped, right? You would tear this city inside out to find her with that outrageous temper of yours," Captain Black took in a deep breath to stop himself from exploding in anger. Agent Coul was taken aback by his boss' outburst. He had expected for Captain Black to take his side and let him move on to something else. He had done this before and it had worked.

"You should consider yourself lucky Delya isn't here to hear our conversation because you realize she is a demon, correct?"

"...Yes sir. She's a demon like Drago." That was what Agent Coul had understood.

Agent Coul was beginning to seriously irk Captain Black. Now that Drago was stuck in the Demon Netherworld, he learned Drago and Delya were two types of demons.

"Correction, Agent Coul. Delya and Drago are total opposites. But say Delya had a temper similar to Drago's. Do you think the city would still be left standing in one piece? By the end of the week tops, San Francisco would look like a tornado, hurricane and ten earthquakes hit all at the same time. But Delya is not like Drago, right? You don't see San Francisco looking like a mess, am I right?" Captain Black demanded to know. It was one thing to try and slip out of a case but it was another to disrespect the family of the victim while doing so. This had hit Captain Black on a personal level.

"No sir, I do not want to see Delya tearing up San Francisco," Coul gulped. Captain Black wasn't yelling yet, but Coul had felt like his boss was building up for that moment.

"Now I'm giving you a chance to do the rightful thing by helping Delya find Evangeline. I'm giving you a chance if you don't want to be fired, because what you just did makes me question if I want to keep such a pessimistic agent working at Section 13. I do realize that this company has been through very hard times, especially when it pertains to magic but that doesn't mean that you give up easily. Do you understand me loud and clear?"

"Yes sir!" Agent Coul saluted. He didn't like being afraid of anybody because to him, fear is something easy to control. The only person the tempered agent would allow himself to fear was Captain Black, since he was in control of whether someone is going to be fired or not.

"Then get back to work. It's not just Delya, but many other people who were close to Evangeline are also saddened. They, including myself, are all counting on you," Captain Black prepared to end the phone call but there was some scuffling on the other end.

"Agent Coul? Agent Coul, what's going on? Hello?" Coul was no longer there, instead there was a different, younger man on the other end.

"Captain Black, I think we have a leading clue on the disappearance of Evangeline," the man, also known as Agent Stork, reported.

Augustus put on the first wide smile of the afternoon and remarked, "Great work, Agent Stork. Bring it back to Section 13 and we'll inve—"

"But I don't think you'll like what you see, sir." The call ended there, leaving the bald captain speechless and nervous. He set down the telephone and couldn't help but to stare at it. Agent Stork's last line ran through Black's head a couple of times, trying to decipher it's meaning. After a few moments of silence, the man had set himself down on a thought he didn't want to think during his investigation. Bringing up the thought once more let butterflies run amuck in his stomach.

"I hope it's not what I fear."

* * *

"Okay, Uncle Jackie. I have the perfect plan to get the White Diamond without any problems," Jade rubbed her hands together in a sinister/playful way. All in the trip of 3 1/2 hours, Jackie and co. were heading towards the diamond mines. Everyone already had their tour passes hung around their necks as the group headed to their destination.

"Jade, don't even think of trying to steal the White Diamond because I told you before: we are not criminals," the Chinese archaeologist shook his finger in his niece's face. He didn't like breaking rules while abroad because he knew it was disrespectful.

"No, no, no! No one's stealing anything," Jade shook her head reassuringly. "All we have to do is have Uncle, Tohru and Delya distract the bad people and you and I—"

"Jade, stop. There _is _no plan. We just go in, get the gem and get out of there before we get caught," Jackie said. "We're trying not to get in a scuffle."

"We won't even make up a back up plan?" was Delya's suggestion. It made her feel uncomfortable whenever something wasn't planned out. "Jade might be right. If we just make a plan, at least we know what to do in case bad things happen."

Jackie put his finger to his lips. "Bad things won't happen if you don't mention it."

"From what I've seen from you Chans so far, the worst can happen in an instant. I'd rather be a little prepared than go the whole way improvising," the young woman crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"When I mean there will be no plan, I mean a plan about fighting. We just need to find the jewel, get home, take the dark magic spell from it and be done for today. That's all I want," Jackie looked up at the large entrance his group was approaching. A large and muscular black man was standing in the doorway, looking as if he were part of the FBI. His menacing looks even frightened Tohru some, though Tohru was a foot taller.

"This is a party of five?" the security man asked. On the man's shirt, there was a name tag that read "Hezekiah".

"Yes. We have our passes. There's not a problem, is there?" Jackie asked as he handed in his pass. Hezekiah looked at the slip of paper, reading it front and back. From behind, Hezekiah took out a flashlight and handed it to Delya.

"Some of the lights don't seem to be working properly today and we can't get them fixed until tomorrow, so there's a good chance you will need this."

"Nah, we're good. We already have a flashlight," the girl nodded, pointing to Uncle's glowing blow fish.

"Are you sure? I'm not sure how you're going to see with green light...," Hezekiah questioned.

"When we say we are fine, **WE ARE FINE**!" Uncle screeched in the man's ear. This startled Hezekiah as he frantically nodded towards Uncle and put the item in his side pocket.

"Hmm...alright, you folks are cleared. Enjoy the Cape Town Diamond Museum. Thanks and please, come back soon," the African man flashed a wide smile. Uncle ignored the friendly gesture and was the first to walk through the gate, turning up his nose to the man in disgust.

"Is your grandfather usually like that?" Hezekiah leaned down to whisper to Jackie. The Chinese archaeologist nodded humbly.

"He's actually my uncle, but yes. It's just today that he's in a hurrying attitude. I apologize for that." With that, Jackie led Tohru, Jade and Delya inside the museum. The museum looked dim, for there was some not-so-bright lights built on the ceiling. However some of the lights hit the diamond displays on the walls, which partially lit up the rooms.

"We get to collect something that's actually nice to look at," Delya snickered. She noticed the clicks of the camera going off behind her. It was Jade, snapping away.

"What? This is just in case when I go back to the 'S' word, I'll have my 'What I Did For Summer Vacation' paper ready with evidence!" the Chinese girl beamed. Jackie noticed how his niece's eyes shone seeing the so many diamonds reflecting off one another.

"'S' word? What's that?" the demon dame burrowed her brow.

"What she means to say is 'sch—"

"Don't _say_ that word! That word is forbidden!" Jade pointed to her uncle. A doubtful Delya placed her hands on her hips.

"How is the word 'school' a bad thing?" the demon dame asked.

"If you say the word, then my mind is going to think about it and I don't want to think about it. I want to think about summer and summer things all summer long," the girl informed.

"So wouldn't summer be the new 'S' word when the old 'S' begins in September?" Tohru asked. Jade shook her head.

"No. Summer is _never _and never will be a bad word."

"How long will searching for the White Diamond take?" Jackie turned to his uncle. The elder chi wizard was busy using his glowing-green blow fish to move over the many diamond displays. So far he had found nothing. Jackie was answered with a slap to the head.

"Ow!"

"Do not rush the chi!" he replied in an unusually nervous tone. Jackie detected this right away and knew the reason behind that.

"We are just as sad as you are about Evangeline's disappearance, Uncle. But remember what you said back in the shop? We must not let that distract us from our task at hand."

Luckily for Jackie, Delya, Tohru and Jade were busy looking at the diamonds on display and not to what was going on around them. "Uncle knows what is and what is not important! You are distracting Uncle from his job. He knows what he is supposed to do! Are you implying that Uncle is distracted by Aunti being missing?" the elder Chinese pointed his finger to his nephew. Jackie held up his hands in a surrender-like manner.

"No! That's not what I am saying," he defended himself. "You need to calm down and not get ahead of yourself."

"With Eva being missing and you reminding Uncle about it, it is hard to focus! You make Uncle nervous yet you want to tell him to 'calm down'?! Why don't you step in Uncle's shoes, see how he _really_ feels?" Uncle scowled. He spun a 180 degree turn on his heel and stormed away from his nephew to the next diamond display.

"Uncle isn't in a very good mood. If this interferes any further...," Jackie held his head, worrying about what will happen. "Oh bad day, bad day."


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, now I don't know what I was thinking going to Delya's house. She hates me and my guts. She can save all the hating until after she gives me breakfast, _Drago thought as he walked to up Delya's door. It had taken him more than half an hour to get from the city to Delya's house. It was either because of him trying hard to ignore the people staring at him or the many crowds of people he was trying to get through. The dragon teen had forgotten how crowded San Francisco was or the ongoing heat.

Drago cracked his knuckles and moved his hair to the side. "This is it," Drago said, knocking on the door. There was an deafening silence.

"Is no one home?" Drago said as he knocked harder. He didn't realize it but his temper was starting to rise.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?!" Drago was almost breaking the door down from its hinges the way he was supposedly "knocking" on the door.

"By now, somebody's supposed to be answering the door. That means neither of them are here," this was the only conclusion Drago could make. As much as he didn't want it to be true, it was.

"Now what?" Drago said as he took a step back. As he set his right foot down, the dragon teen heard crumpling paper. He looked down and saw a small piece of folded paper. Drago picked up the paper and unfolded it slowly.

"What's this?" Drago could see the blue ink showing through the inside of the white paper.

"'I am not here right now because I'm busy. Please call 233-206-2458 and I will come back to you later. I should be coming back by 10:00 or 11:00 pm. Call by then'," that was the last thing Drago read before his hand was ablaze with fire. The paper turned into black ash and fell to the ground like little leaves.

"I don't have a while day to wait for Delya to get home from whatever's she's busy doing. She's probably helping Chan on some 'archaeological dig'," Drago plopped himself in the corner on the outside porch left of Delya's door.

"This is going to be an extremely long day..."

* * *

"Hey De, did you find the Diamond yet?" Jade called to her friend. Delya's head was engulfed in worrying about her aunt to hear Jade's voice. Besides the time Delya was kidnapped, it was actually the longest time Delya hadn't seen her guardian.

Jade waved her hands in front of her friend to see if her mind was still on Earth. "I'm right here, not there."

"Hunh? Say what now?" Delya jerked her head.

"You are so out of it," Jade complained with a raised eyebrow. "I've called your name, like, a thousand times and you didn't respond."

"Oh yeah?" The demon dame put a thoughtful hand to her chin.

"Yeah. If there's something bothering you, you can tell me. I'm _most definitely_ one of the people you can trust the most!" a proud Jade boasted pointing to herself. Delya softly chuckled.

"If you really want to know, it's about Aunti. Someone took my aunt's belongings, magical instruments included, and ran off with her. First off, no one besides her and I knows she's a chi witch. Something fishy's going on and I don't like it," the demon explained her situation.

"I know. I guess someone doesn't like Aunti and when I mean 'not like', I mean 'really dislike'," Jade said. Delya nodded.

"Pretty much. Someone must have a very good reason for hurting Aunt Eva and the worst part is: I don't know why," Delya kept her mental state strong. She was thinking of bursting in tears, but she didn't want to cause a scene that would be distracting.

"Hotcha! Uncle found it!" Uncle cried out. His aged voice echoed off the empty walls of the tunnel, seeming louder than normal

"Great, now let's-!" Jade caught herself. She found out that she, along with her friends, weren't the only ones in the cave.

"Actually, **we** found it first. As of today, this diamond belongs to ZIK Incorporated," another voice said in the cave. The ominous depth in his voice chilled the Chinese girl. In the same room, a elder man with a turban stood across from Uncle and Jackie. Beside the elder man was a young woman, an early 20 year-old, standing silently beside him.

"Who are you?" Uncle said. His hand was in his bag, ready to whip out his blow fish at any moment.

"My name is not of your concern, but that White Diamond is. Please, hand it to me and we won't have any trouble," the man held out his hand.

"I don't think so," Jackie answered. He stepped forward in front of his group. "We need this White Diamond."

The man sighed, then from his pocket took out a bundle of cash and tossed the bundle towards the feet of Jackie. "We will buy it from you for 2,500 in cash."

Jackie picked up the bundle of cash. He suspiciously eyed the green money and looked up to the man who had tossed it to him. He threw it back, in which the elder man caught it. The archaeologist said, "Take your money because we don't need it."

"This bag of bones better leave now or Uncle will give you a piece of him!" the chi wizard shook the fist that wasn't in his bag.

"Well, Jiang. Your attitude sure hasn't changed a bit. It seems that it's been passed down to your granddaughter," the man chuckled at Uncle.

Uncle made a small snarl. "Does Uncle know you?"

"Of course you do. Remember this?" the man took of his traditional Vietnamese turban, revealing a sign on his turban in the light. Uncle covered his face with his right hand, allowing his magical instrument to fall to the floor.

"Tân?"

"Surprised to see me again, Jiang? Or has it been too long for your old mind to remember?" Tân chuckled as he placed his turban back on his head.

"It has been too long, Tân. Why do we fight?" Uncle's fighting attitude had disappeared instantly. He had turned into a soft Uncle: something that his family rarely saw of him.

The dark wizard glowered at his supposed friend, lightly gripping his cane.

"Who is this guy?" Jackie leaned in Delya's ear to whisper. She simply shrugged.

"I dunno. And who's the chick with him? His younger sister?" Delya grumbled with her arms crossed over her chest.

"If you're here for the same reason Uncle is—," Uncle started his sentence out, eyeing Tân.

"—Then this won't end out well, for you," Tân finished. "Now that we're on the same mission, you can keep it. Take the White Diamond." The young woman gave Tân an outraged look to her supervisor.

"What are you doing?! We're supposed to bring this 'White Diamond' to the boss! What are we going to do now?" the girl whined. She could feel chills running up and down her back and she knew it would mean trouble.

"Lola, trust me. He'll understand," Tân nodded. He turned to Uncle and bowed. "Until next time, old friend." From there, Tân and Lola left from the same way they came. This had left everyone in the Chan Clan speechless. Finally, Jade was the first to speak up.

"Wait, what happened? There was no action, no fight or anything! Not even a little struggling," exclaimed the frustrated teen. She was starting to regret coming along on the trip. The girl turned to her uncle. "Uncle, did you know that guy?"

The light chi wizard didn't answer. He blankly stared into the door of the room across from him, as if Tân was still there talking to him. The man squinted his edged eyes as he turned to Jade. His rough look returned to his face.

"Uncle does not know anymore," was the only response he say. Tohru and Jackie exchanged worried looks and turned to Uncle.

"Your first name is Jiang?" came Tohru's question. Through everything he had been through with his former sensei, the Japanese giant would've never discovered his teacher's real name. The thought of it had never crossed his mind.

Uncle made a small gulp. He turned to face his former apprentice. "That's a name even he himself hasn't heard anyone say in 45 years." Uncle couldn't bring himself to utter his real name.

Jackie placed a hand on his uncle's shoulder, giving his relative a compassionate look. "It's alright Uncle. You don't have to explain if you don't want to," came the man's response. Uncle didn't seem to be paying much attention to his nephew.

"Let's just take the White Diamond and go home," Tohru reasoned. "Before the man changes his mind and comes back."

Delya let out a huff of breath. "Good idea Tohru. Now let's just get the White Diamond and go home already."

"Yes. W should all take a break for today," Jackie knew the day had only started at the gem hunt was starting to wear everyone down. He picked up the glass case that contained the White Diamond and nodded towards the door.

"Let's go."

* * *

The Chan Clan had made it back to Section 13 safe and sound, but the jet ride on the way home was oddly quiet. Uncle refused to answer any questions that anyone (mainly Jackie) had asked. He'd either reply with 'too tired' or 'leave Uncle alone! He's busy reading doing research!' This lead to the rest of his family getting worried by the minute (again, mostly Jackie). Jade, Tohru and Delya had sat idly in their seats, not wanting to anger Uncle. The three of them kept their many questions to themselves, for they didn't know what exactly to say. When the group got back to the Section 13 port, Captain Black was standing waiting for them.

"How was your trip?" the bald captain asked Jackie. His tone of voice wasn't so cheerful and neither was his face. Jackie was the first one to rush off the jet to greet Black. In his hands was a clear box that contained a clear, shiny looking jewel.

"We got the White Diamond and a new villain to face. Same old, same old," the archaeologist droned on. He tried to keep his face as straight as he could, but Captain Black could see something else was wrong.

"Jackie, are you alright?" the Section 13 boss placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. The middle-aged shook his head and wore the tired familiar smile Black had always known.

Jackie lightly chuckled. "Ask Uncle. He was mainly the center of attention." Jackie pointed to Uncle, who was getting off the jet as he spoke. He pushed the box into Augustus' hands.

"Speaking of Uncle, please keep the White Diamond somewhere safe. Uncle says that for the gem to be safe to use, he had to take off the dark chi spell from it," Jackie bowed to his friend of six years and left to go to his room.

"Finally I'm home! I need sleep and actual food in my stomach. The food on the jet did not have taste _at all_," Delya said as she rushed off the plane. Just as she got off, she looked up to see Captain Black staring at her. She didn't notice the hollow look in the captain's face as she greeted him.

"I see Jackie gave you the White Diamond," the demon dame smirked. "As for out trip, it was...erm...I guess a little less than average. Some awkward occurrences here and there."

Augustus nodded with a small smile. He made the 'come here' finger gesture. "That's good news. Do you mind stepping into my office for a quick moment?"

"Am I in trouble? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Delya's eyes were as wide as moons hearing this. From what she's heard from others, hearing 'can I see you for a moment?' meant that something bad was going to happen.

"Well, what do I do with my bags and my stuff?"

"You can just leave them here for now. I need to talk to you about some private business. I won't take long," the bald captain folded his hands together.

"This talk is...private?"

Captain Black didn't answer. He walked alongside the plane and took a left, heading to his office. Delya followed behind him with a heavy feeling in her heart. She knew the feeling couldn't be her sixth sense, but something else bad. It wasn't too long before the two reached Captain Black's office.

The office was a smaller than Black's previous one, but looked bigger. In the middle of the room was Captain Black's desk. It looked identical to Black's last desk before Section 13 collapsed due to Drago's rule. The demon dame felt somewhat responsible for that. To the far left of the room was a microwave and a coffee maker plugged in. Delya knew Captain Black had been making nothing but coffee all day because his room smelled like coffee beans. Beside the coffee table was a door with the word 'Exit' across the top of the frame. Behind Captain Black was a large portrait of a picture of the old Section 13 for old keepsakes.

_Captain Black must've somehow taken a picture of Section 13 right before it fell_, Delya concluded. _He must miss it a lot._

"Sit down," a calm, but chilling tone came from the captain.

"I think I'm okay standing."

"Alright then," Captain Black took a seat and rolled in to align himself with the work desk. Augustus silently opened the desk drawer and pulled out a fairly large bag. Without any clear sign of emotion, he handed it to Delya.

"Some kind of early Christmas present, I'm guessing?" Delya raised her eyebrow. She turned over the bag, looking at it closely. In the bag was some clothes with splotches of red covering the bright colors. When Delya opened the bag, the smell of chlorine, foul blood and ocean salt-water hit her nose. She was almost knocked down from the foul smell.

"Wait...th-that's Aunti's shawl and her jacket. And that's her hand-made necklace. What—?" Delya was feeling slightly flushed as she looked up at the bald captain. Delya gripped a chunk of her hair. It had looked like she was going to rip her hair off her scalp.

"I don't get it...what's this supposed to mean?" Delya blurted out. Any moment later and she would've thrown the bag across the room.

"Today, some agents went to the San Francisco Bay area and found the articles of clothing with mass amounts of blood afloat on the surface. There were more amounts of blood on the sand, where these clothes were found also," the bald captain softly cracked his knuckles.

"Blood? Whose blood?"

"We did some DNA tracking on the blood and it belonged to your aunt. It seems that your aunt had either died or murder or of extreme blood loss. I'm truly sorry for what happened and I personally will do everything in my power to make sure the perpetrator is brought to justice," Captain Black delivered his lines in a sorrowful motion. It didn't take long for Delya to know what the boss of Section 13 was trying to get to.

"Aunt Eva's dead? No, no, no. That can't be true. You're confused with another old woman out there," Delya tried to take a deep breath but she was starting to feel warm all over. She heard her heart pumping inside of her head, giving her a headache.

"I was hoping the same thing but as you know, evidence usually comes before the thought," Black sighed. Even though he was Delya's friend, he still had a job to do and that came first.

"Oh man. _Please_ tell me this is just some late and lame April Fools Joke," she finally took a seat and combed her hand through her thick hair. "Tell me one of the agents is playing a practical joke on me."

"Delya—"

"Who ever is behind this is gonna get it. First, I'll laugh with them, then they're going to get a punch to the face. Yep, that's it. Maybe I'll hurt them even more."

"Delya—"

"Seriously, what kind of person makes sick jokes like that? Spreading rumors about people's loved ones dying. What happened to morals?"

"**Delya**," the head of Section 13 cleared his voice louder. The girl stopped her rambling, looking up at Black. He spoke, "Would you like to see more of the evidence we collected?"

"No. I don't want to see evidence. I don't believe you. I don't believe any of this. I can't even** look** at this thing right now," the demon tossed the package on Black's desk. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She gave a hard stare to Black. "Where's Aunti's body? Where's the DNA of the murderers? Was there any clue for the suspects?"

"We didn't find her body or any DNA of anyone except your aunt's," Blacks' expression was deep sorrow. He didn't want to be sad either, but it was hard for him not to be. "There were no visible hand prints we could find. There was not a single print on the clothing."

"This is unbelievable," Delya put her hand to her chin. Her face was now streaming with tears and she felt her nose starting to run. "Aunti was full of life and energy. She was strong and powerful, yet she gets...some things happen and she's just gone. She's a freakin' _chi witch_ and she's gone. Just like that," she snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Aunti cannot be dead."

"I know some of the clues don't exactly add up, but you know my agents and I are working diligently to find the perpetrator," Captain Black tried to console Delya as she buried her face in her hands and started to cry. Her shoulders moved up and down, following the sounds of her sobbing.

"She's not dead, she just can't be! Aunti never let anyone bring her down, yet in a day she just...just passes away," the demon dame wept. She felt Captain Black's hands on her shoulders and a consoling rub on her back. Delya couldn't bring herself to say 'die'.

"I understand how you feel 100 percent. When I was in my early 20s, my favorite aunt died of breast cancer," Captain Black was greeted with the old memories of his aunt's death. He had cried the same way Delya was.

"Then you understand that Aunti meant the world to me. I would go to the Demon Netherworld and back multiple times just to see her smiling face again," Delya took her head up from her hands. They were covered in tears. Delya wiped her tears onto her pants and inhaled.

"She took me in while I didn't have a proper place to live in. If it wasn't for her, I would've been such a little spoiled demon brat like Drago, tearing up the world just to find stupid demon powers," Delya continued to weep. Delya was happy she is in Captain Black's office because she was sure she would be making a scene if in public.

"Let it all out. Let it all out," came Augustus' soothing voice.

"Wait. This is all just some bad dream! I'm going to wake up in the morning and Aunti's going to greet me like any other regular day!" Delya's face brightened a little. She pinched her arm, finding out that she was indeed in reality. "Aw man. This is reality."

"We all wish this wasn't reality," Captain Black replied. As the demon's cries died down into sniffling, the captain spoke up. "Now I know this is stepping over the line here, but would you be willing to show up for grief counseling tomorrow? If you don't want to, that is fine. But maybe it can help you better cope with Evangeline being missing." It felt weird for Captain Black to describe Aunti as dead. It didn't seem respectful to him.

_Say no! **Say no**! You don't need stupid counseling. All you're going to do is talk about how you feel._

"Yes," the mutter escaped from Delya's lips. "When I call tomorrow, then you can sign me up." She fidgeted in her chair for a few seconds. She croaked, "May I leave?"

Augustus nodded, pointing to the door behind her. "You may."

A tear-faced Delya marched out of the room, letting the door close her out. Jackie had her belongings in hand while his niece stood beside him.

"Were...were you crying?" Jade tilted her head to look at Delya more closely. The demon dame quickly wiped them so she wouldn't be embarrassed.

"Jade!" Jade's archaeologist uncle scolded with a finger wag.

"No, Jackie. It's okay," Delya bent down to Jade's height, wiping her messy hair out of her face.

"I've just been...informed about Aunti's disappearance," the demon dame squeaked.

"Has she returned?" Jackie's eyes were wide.

"She...she...she didn't make it," the sobbing built up, suddenly pouring out like a new water fountain. Delya's face was buried in her hands once again, crying harder than before. Jackie and Jade wrapped their hands around Delya. The only reasonable thing for them to do was to make a hug around the mourning demon.

* * *

The long walk home Delya took was only 30 minutes but felt like two hours. Delya felt like whoever her aunt's killers were had taken a special knife and ripped her heart out. She didn't know how many times she had squeezed her necklace walking home.

"My father died, my mother is banished and now my sole guardian has been murdered. Where is my life going to?" Delya silently sobbed. It was dark out-somewhere around 10:30 pm and it was particularly warm. The streets were empty with nothing but a few fireflies, the sound of crickets and the moonlight pouring onto the street.

"I should've been there for her. I should've been there for Evangeline but instead I had to go to Section 13 and play around," Delya played with strands of her head. She came across her mailbox with her address on it.

"Once I get home, it's going to be just me," Delya internally started to sweat. She wiped away the remaining dry tears from her face once more. "It's going to be a really quiet house."

"What is up with all the sorrow tonight?" a voice dripping with venom greeted Delya.

"Yah!" Delya almost tripped over her own legs going backwards.

"Okay!" she screamed as she took a step down. She was about to summon fire with her hands but remembered that she was disguised like a human, instead taking a fighting stance.

Delya gulped, then looked around nervously. She knew bad things could happen to anybody around this time of night. "Are you a stalker or something? In fact, it doesn't matter because I'm am **so** close to twisting your neck and sticking my foot up your ass!"

"Delilah, I'm pretty sure you know who I am," the man chuckled. When the person stepped into the natural moonlight, Delya groaned and slapped her hand against her forehead.

"Aw no. Not you again."

**A/N: This was indeed a very sad chapter. I felt sorrow for Delya losing her loved one. A lot of people know how that feels, counting me.**


	9. Chapter 9

"This night has gotten even more exciting," Delya muttered sarcastically. Her sadness was quickly forgotten. "Get _off_ of my porch! What are you doing here anyway?! Uncle sent you on a one-way trip to the Demon Netherworld! And why do you look like a human?"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Drago hissed as he smoothed back his hair "I have a human disguise because I don't want humans seeing a dragon in the daylight **obviously.** I thought you were smarter than that."

"I _am_!" she felt steam coming out from her ears. "How long were you at my doorstep?"

"Since morning. I'm glad you actually thought about my well-being. Wish you did that before talking about twisting my neck and kicking my ass though..."

Delya rolled her eyes. "Oh whatever. How did you get here?"

"That's for me to know and you never to find out," the son of Shendu glanced at his nails before looking back at his former friend.

Delya could feel her anger boiling inside of her. "It _is_ if you don't tell me."

"How about you skip everything and you get to the part where you take me in?" he raised his voice, hoping Delya would get it through her head.

"I **ab-so-lu-te-ly** refuse to let you in my house," Delya walked up the stairs and slightly pushed past Drago. She had a feeling he would do something to stop her, and she was right. The dragon grabbed the left bicep of her arm and pulled her close to his ear.

"I'm not asking you, I'm _demanding_ that you let me have a place to stay," the son of Shendu barked. "Or you and your aunt—wherever she is—are going to get it _big time_. And trust me: when I get the chance to rule the Earth, you'll get what's coming to you."

"Just because you're the son of some fancy fire demon doesn't mean I'm going to let you walk all over me," the demon dame let a small wave of electricity wash over the left arm. Though it was small wave, it caused quite a shock to Drago. "I'm done with you treating me like some kind of carpet. It was probably you who killed Aunti anyway. Some low blow there, huh?"

Drago's eyes went wide, but quickly returned to normal. "That explains why your house was locked. I was about to break in. I only came over because I am STAR-**VING.** I haven't gotten anything to eat at all since I've broken free from Demon Hell," Drago started off. Delya rolled her eyes and turned her back to her former boss.

"I'm not budging."

Drago's eyes flashed a brighter red. "Why the hell not?" his demon voice dripped with poison and edge. Delya would've been scared if her confidence wasn't so high.

She jabbed her finger in Drago's chest and snapped, "Why should I let you in my house? You almost ruined my life, my family, my friends! You're a horrible person."

"Your life's not ruined yet girly, not while I'm around. And I guess you've forgotten that I'm a demon. Hint hint: _I'm not nice_. I'm never "nice". I'm built to be this way. Why do you think I hunted demon chi and those dragon teeth I'm guessing Chan told you about? Just for fun? No! I did it to turn the world back where it should be: a world with demons' rule. But you; you go around helping Section 13 and the Chans. It seems like you're denying who you really are. Besides, you're not the perfect definition of the perfect demon either, **missy**. If I recall, you spend your days living among the human world living with an old woman. Just to let you know now, I had nothing to do with your aunt's death. I'm not stupid. I would've killed her a long time ago, _trust me_," Drago delivered the harsh truth.

It seemed weird that Delya believed what Drago said about Aunti's death. For some reason, it didn't seem all too right for Drago to come out and do such a thing that quickly after coming out of his prison. "That's the thing! I don't trust you!" now it was Delya's turn to snap. She had enough of Drago's criticism. "I want **nothing** to do with you! And if you keep bothering me like this, I will stick this up where the sun don't shine," she pointed to her foot, then to Drago. He wasn't phased by Delya's threat.

"Ooh, _terrifying_. Just another threat that won't be delivered. You know, if we worked together hunting demon chi again I might've backed off a little," the demon chuckled, his crimson eyes sparkled in the moonlight. He proudly crossed his arms over his chest with a heinous and winning smirk. "What if I told you that I know what you're looking for?"

"You may know my name, but you don't know my life so _butt out_!" the demon dame reached for her keys inside her knapsack. The son of Shendu chuckled darkly, stroked his chin hair.

"Oh I do. I know you're searching for some magic gemstones, right? The nine magical jewels of Samuel Long, I presume?" he smirked. Just as Delya put her key in the door, she stopped cold.

"That's the spirit. You got the White Diamond with you, right?"

"H-Ho-How do you know about it?"

Drago lit his hand on fire, staring intensely in the flame. He looked up quite flirtatiously at his ex-friend and smiled. "Let's just say I have my ways. So how 'bout a deal? You let me in, treat me like a good hostess. Give me food, a roof under my head, the essentials. In return, I will give you all the knowledge you need to know."

The demon dame took her key from the lock and started fondling with it. "Mmm...I don't know. How do I know you won't deceive me in the end, just to mess with my head like the demon _you say_ you are?"

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. It all depends on if you follow the rules of the deal if you accept," the fire finally died and the son of Shendu put his hand in his pocket. "But it's fine. I'm totally okay. If you don't want help, then I'll be on my merry way..." he took slow steps down the stairs, waiting for Delya to pipe up.

"Wait!"

A mischievous smile grew on Drago's hot lips. "What was that?"

The female demon wiped her messy hair from her face. She let down her fighting stance, looking embarrassed. She shoved her hands in her pocket and blushed. "Ugh, **fine**. I'll take your stupid offer. I'll take you in and feed you and whatever while you give me clues to find those gemstone things. While you're here, you have to be human when outside my house. Either that or you're out," the female demon rubbed her eyes. "And don't call me by my full name. You know that pisses me off."

Drago gave a seductive look to Delya and nodded. "We will see about that _Dimples_," he tapped the hostess on the nose playfully. Feeling slightly annoyed, she swiped it away. "And another thing; if I catch you doing anything illegal in my eyes, you're getting booted. Got that?" she opened the door wide.

The son of Shendu put up his hands in a surrender-like style. "Alright, alright. I will refrain myself. Most of the time anyway."

"You better make it all the time. Now c'mon," Delya grabbed the front of Drago's jacket. "I don't want you hogging all the food."

"How many rules are you going to give me? I just got here," Drago was sure Delya could hear his stomach grumbling.

"If I remember, you gave me a lot of rules when you kidnapped me." Drago frowned at that, but kept his thoughts to himself. Delya kicked off her Converse shoes and put it near the door. She went down the hallway and into the kitchen with Drago tailing behind her.

"So this is your house, huh?" the dragon teen nodded as he took a good look around the place. "It's okay."

"It's not just "okay", it's my house," came Delya's defense.

"Whatever Ms. Snap Dragon," Drago retorted. He immediately dove into the kitchen's fridge and reached for the nearest plate of food.

"Hey! That was mine!" Delya cried as she watched as her ex-friend opened her refrigerator and started chowing down on a leftover chili cheese dog.

The human/dragon didn't look sorry at all. "Too late." Drago continued to eat the rest. Delya scowled and clenched her fists. _What a pig!_

"Do you want to show me which room I'm going to be sleeping in and which one's the bathroom per chance?" Drago the human licked his fingers clean.

"Go upstairs and last door to the left. There's a guest room that leads to the bathroom if you need it," Delya replied bitterly. She hoped he wouldn't notice and move on.

"There's not some kinda trap in your house, right?"

"No. Even if there was, I wouldn't tell you," came Delya's sly response, She couldn't help but smile at her own answer.

"Look, this deal between us all plays in **your hands**. Screw up on me and you pay," Drago growled with his finger wagging in her face.

"I don't screw up. And you don't own me!" Delya flipped her hair out from her face and let it fall behind her back. She stormed out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. On the way out, she purposely stepped on Drago's foot, hearing him squeal in pain on the way out.

"Ow!" Drago dropped his food on his table. It made a terrible mess.

"You're cleaning that!" Delya shouted from upstairs.

Heavy steam blew out from Drago's nose and his mouth as he watched his one-night roommate go.

"I swear if Delya's house and food weren't so good, I would've left."

* * *

"Uncle? Uncle, are you awake?" Jackie asked. It was late and the archaeologist was knocking on Uncle's door with Jade by his side. He was certain that his old relative was awake.

"Uncle is not here! Go away!" came his call.

"You don't think we're that gullible, right?" Jade rolled her eyes. Jackie gave her a disappointed look that made her shut her mouth.

"Uncle, we just want to talk to you!" Jackie knocked on Uncle's door once again. This time, Uncle swung open his door and greeted Jackie with a smack on the head.

"Did you not hear Uncle said that he wasn't here?!" he hissed. He looked around nervously behind his family. "Come in."

"Finally!" the preteen girl cheered as she skipped into Uncle's room. "Okay Unc, now you're going to have to spill the beans."

"Jade!" Jackie put his hand over her mouth. He turned back towards his elder. "Uncle, you never told us your real name is 'Jiang' or that you had a friend named Tân. Is there any history between the two of you?"

Uncle twiddled his thumbs, not really looking up at Jackie when he spoke. He sat up. "Uncle was—Uncle **Jiang** was afraid of telling you this for years. Tân was an old friend of his."

"Was he like that guy you called 'Caterpillars' and didn't see him in 60 years?" Jade chimed in.

"No, no. Uncle meet Tân about a year after he left the opera scene. He was from Vietnam, Uncle was from China. He was fascinated with magic and what it could do. So was Uncle and our friendship hit off just like that. Tân was almost like brother. One morning, he just up and left. Uncle never saw him again until now."

"So-o-o Tân didn't leave a note or anything?" Jade asked. The story seemed quite unconvincing to her point of view. "Not even a message in magic?"

"No. He just took all his belongings, which weren't much, and left. For years Uncle has been thinking that it was his fault that Tân took off. Now he's starting to have second thoughts...," Uncle put a hand to his chin with his usual frowning face on. "Just because you know Uncle's real name does not mean you can say it. He already have enough trouble keeping up with so many people calling Uncle's name every day."

"Oh yeah, and we heard about...we heard about Aunti's death. We're sorry Uncle," Jackie gripped his knees. Jade twiddled her thumbs, the memory of Delya crying played on repeat in her mind.

"So it appears," Uncle grimly replied.

Jade stopped what she was doing and met Uncle dead in the eye. "How'd you know?"

"Uncle heard whole conversation between Delya and Black." An awkward silence filled the room.

"This is the second time Uncle had lost a light chi wizard to evil. This summer is going to be very hard for Uncle Jiang to recover from, since he lost his master in same season," Uncle took down his night cap and held it tightly. Jackie and Jade exchanged worried looks, the turned back to Uncle.

"We're sorry for your major loss, Uncle," Jackie bowed his head. Uncle used this to his advantage as he slapped Jackie across the head.

"Ow!"

"You are all interfering into Uncle' bedtime! He needs sleep!" the elder man screeched as he stood up to push his nephew and grand-niece out of his room.

"Good night, Uncle Jiang," Jade hugged him. The old Chinese man couldn't help but make a little grin at the sound of his name. He even forgot to scold Jade for that because for once, the name sounded formidable.

* * *

"Tân wouldn't let me get the White Diamond! Please do not blame me for his doings," Lola pleaded. She could feel Kimikaz's anger flaring from across the room. Blue veins once again streaked across his forehead.

"And _why_ wouldn't that thieving chi wizard not want to get the 'White Diamond', as it's called," his teeth were gnashed together.

"B-B-Because—"

"Because what?!" Kim slammed his hand down on his desk. Lola winced, for she had seen her boss get angry before to his other employees. If they had disobeyed orders enough, they would end up missing forever. Lola presumed they were left for deaf.

"I'm so sorry!" Lola cowered. She fell to her knees and felt a strange lump in her throat. "It's just-."

"Lola dear, let me take over. You go run along back to your floor," Tân stepped in to Lola's defense.

_Oh good! If __Tân__ hadn't spoken up, when he did I'm pretty sure I would have wet myself,_ Lola rushed out of the office. Now it was just the businessman and the wizard.

"Sit down," Kimikaz pointed to the chair that was across from his. Tân did so without speech.

"Do you have a reasonable answer as to why you directly disobeyed orders? I thought I perfectly said to bring that pretty little thing home," Kimikaz clenched his teeth. "If memory serves, you had agreed to do the exact same thing. Are you backstabbing me?"

"Of course not."

"'Of course not'. If you didn't intend to, then why in the world would you say one thing, turn around and say something _completely different_? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were making your fellow 'chi friends' turn against me and rule my company."

Tân doubled over, holding his stomach with both of his hands. Sometimes seeing Kimikaz get anger made him burst out in laughter. He couldn't help it. "You are taking this the wrong way. I would never turn my back against you because that would be like turning myself in. My loyalties are with you 100 percent. I just saw an old friend on mine down in South Africa that I haven't seen in many, many years," the dark wizard replied with an odd little smirk. "I let him keep the gem to let him know that we're on to his little 'gem hunt'."

"And who was this friend that let you come here empty-handed?" Kim questioned.

"I don't believe I've ever told you about my old friend Jiang? He was like my brother until I left him."

The business man was very confused at first but in a few seconds, Kimikaz's eyes went wide. He was starting to get the point of Tân's story. "Oh no. **No**! Don't tell me that this Jiang is a chi wizard too!"

Tân nodded. "He, _Jiang_, is a good chi wizard. He has aged over the years and apparently has a family. What I saw was a little girl, who was probably his granddaughter, a man most likely Jiang's son in his mid thirties, an overweight man and a young woman. Unless I am mistaken, I take it that the woman is the 20 year-old girl you were talking about?" Kimikaz took out a deep breath, mainly of frustration and confusion. He practically threw himself in his big chair and spun around. He didn't want Tân to see his face. "You mean Delya?"

"Yes, if that's how you would put it. Don't worry, on the next trip I will show no mercy to all," Tân played with his turban. He placed it back on his head, saying, "It's not a big deal, really."

"Delya is Eline's niece!" the man pounded his fist against the desk after he mentioned the name. He hadn't said that name in years. To Kim, it left a scar on his tongue for life. "Now that Evangeline is out of the equation, next are Delya and the 'Jiang' old man you're talking about. Delya is definitely first, but I am not sure how to take her out. It has to be in the quietest way possible."

Tân and Kimikaz quieted the room with their deep thinking. Pens were being clicked, canes were being tapped, foots were being tapped and fingers were being drummed.

"How about a poisoning? I will personally create the toxin for your little lady friend. You invite her over for a simple cup of coffee and slip the germ in her drink."

"And what if we get discovered?" the businessman combed through his hair with his hands. He was getting quite nervous over this task because he only knew Delya through her aunt.

"Don't worry. I will take care of everything," Tân walked up to the door. He opened it and turned around. "You just need to get the job done."

When Tân closed the door, Kimikaz felt a dull shiver go down his back. For the first time in 40 years, he had felt regret for what he had needed to do to win over the objective. Kimikaz's cold heart was now warm and beating loudly in his chest.

* * *

Delya couldn't hold her sadness in any longer because when she had reached the top of the stairs, she silently burst into tears. The heaves of sobs were quiet, for she didn't want Drago coming and chastising her. She had just flopped herself onto her bed and let the tears fall from her face. Hours upon hours passed by and Delya was still up letting all the emotion of the past few months pass her. Drago taking over the world, being by his side, Section 13 falling, Aunti's death. By the time her eyes had closed, her pillow, the ends of Delya's hair and a part of her bed sheets were wet.

_"Hey, where am I?" Delya looked around her. She was in a dark room that had some faint blotches of purple. It looked like the aftermath of the sky of a bad thunderstorm. It felt warm and humid, and the demon didn't really like that feeling._

_"I feel like a ghost."_

_"Delya? Delya?" a light and sing-song voice echoed. The voice sounded like it belonged to the voice of an angel._

_"Huh? Who's calling my name?" Delya snapped out of her woozy state._

_"-lya," the voice flowed by. Delya felt the wind of the voice pass by her hair. Her hair blew into her face._

_"That sounds like Aunti. But she's dead...," Delya bit her lip. She felt a lump in her throat, as if she were about to cry again. "Not again."_

_"Be careful," the voice came from behind._

_"Is-Is this Aunt Eva?" Delya swore, shaking her fist upwards._

_"You should not worry about that now. What I'm trying to tell you is important, especially since you can lucid dream very well."_

_"Evangeline taught me that," Delya sniffed loudly. "Well then...if this was my aunt speaking she would tell me everything that happened to her while she was gone. I don't think you're her..."_

_"I said you shan't worry about who I am."_

_Delya was slowly starting to hyperventilate, in her dream and while she was sleeping. "I feel...I feel like I can't breathe. Either it's me or this room is getting smaller and smaller as we speak."_

_"Please, calm yourself. You aren't going crazy and therefore you have no reason to be scared. There is no room, for the space you are in is like the sky-with no limits," the voice said. The wind blew Delya's hair from behind her ear to her face, covering her scared expression. "I know this is be too much for you."_

_"I...I don't think I want to do this dream anymore. You are I are __**both**__ insane. Captain Black was right. I do need counseling," Delya wiped her hair from her face as she started to calm down. Her hair was a dark red. "You need to _stop _impersonating! I don't care if you're the Boogeyman for crying out loud, but you need to stop it. I want to wake up now."_

_"The people who attacked your loved one are coming after you too. Their names are..." when the person tried to talk, it was as if their voice had died. "Their names..."_

_"What? What are you talking about? _Who's_ coming after me!" the demon clenched her fists then released them, letting her anger follow. "Maybe we can meet outside of my dream and we can-."_

_"No!"_

_"No?" Delya raised a brow._

_"H-is na-n-..."_

"No!" Delya shot up out of her bed and clutched her bed covers in a death grip.

"Too much snacking before bed," Delya felt around for a night-light. When she touched her bed, she backed off.

"Not to forget the crying before bed," Delya wiped her dry eyes.

"Hey! Keep it down in here! I'm trying to sleep and I can't do that with your shrieks," Drago's face read 'Are you going to snap at me again?'

"Jeez, I dunno. Use ear muffs or something. I'm surprised you heard me over your snoring."

Drago shook his head and lightly yawned. "I do not snore. You move in your sleep."

"Nuh uh!"

"If the Ice Crew were here and still part of my gang, they would confirm me on this," Drago left, almost slamming the door behind him. Delya heard his heavy footsteps trail back to his room and a closing door.

"What a jerk. I bet he got that attitude from that 'father' of his Shendu..." she thought, turning her head over to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day...

"What?! No, that was a foul! That was most **definitely** a foul!"

"Who is that?" Delya muttered as a thought entered her mind. "Oh yeah, Drago." For the 9 hours in-between the lucid dream and now, Delya had forgotten that she had let Drago in.

"Ugh, I _hate_ the mornings," Delya moved her scruffy hair out of her face. She jumped out of her bed and opened the door.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about," Drago clapped.

"The way Drago cheers, you'd think he would wake up the whole neighborhood," Delya mumbled, walking into the bathroom. She yawned and stretched in front of the bathroom mirror. "And I still feel sleepy."

Delya took a good look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was like a frizzy thundercloud, her pajama tank-top and pants were lop-sided and Delya's face wasn't exactly awake. The process of brushing teeth was slow. When she was done with her business the girl went downstairs and into the kitchen. Drago had his back to Delya so he didn't see her come in.

"Finally you're awake," Delya nearly jumped. "You slept for a long time."

"Yeah, it's normal," she opened the fridge and took out a gallon of milk. She rolled her eyes and said, "I would have slept longer if you weren't yelling."

"I got lost in my own world, what can I say?" Drago shrugged with his back to her.

"Well duh," Delya followed with a soft sarcastic remark. She opened a cabinet and took out a box of cereal called 'Frosty Jacks'.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Delya mumbled. The only thing that was heard was the sound of cereal being poured into a bowl and the sounds of soccer being played. "By the way, I'm going to Section 13 for counseling. I'll be back in about one to two hours. Like I said, don't hog the food. I won't be gone that long."

"You're not going to tell them, right?"

The girl was startled by Drago's question, making her spill a part her milk on the table. It made a small mess. He lowered the television volume and faced Delya from the couch. "Uh, tell who? What's there to tell?"

"You know...," Drago the human nodded his head along with the trailed off sentence.

"I know what?" She looked around, expecting something extraordinary to happen as she wiped up her mess.

"Chan and that annoying family of his. Section 13?"

Delya scratched her head and let out a reluctant sigh. _I should've known Drago would ask something like this..._

"I'm not getting into this conversation."

"Why not?" Delya noticed Drago's griping tone.

"You've got to understand that sooner or later, someone's going to find out," Delya continued pouring her milk. Drago proceeded into the kitchen. "And I might not be the one to tell."

"Don't you dare! Chan and his grandpa, sumo and little shrimp ass girl will send me back to the Demon Netherworld and I'm **not** going back there," Drago barked.

"Hey! Don't talk about my friend's like that!" the demon dame slammed her fist on the table. She could've sworn she had seen Drago's eyes quickly flash red.

"Then you better zip it."

"I don't know..." In an impulsive move motivated by frustration, Drago grabbed Delya by her arms and looked her head on.

"Ow, you're hurting me. I think I might even be getting some bruises from the last time you tried to do something like this. Besides, this wasn't part of the deal."

"Now I'm making this a part of the deal," the son of Shendu let out an exhale. He could feel himself starting to shake but he wouldn't allow his body to do that. "You can't tell _anyone_ I live with you or the deal is off. All knowledge I know about the gemstones will be cut off, got it?"

"I'm not that good at keeping secrets for a long time, especially in the situation I'm in now. I'm going to get in a whole lot of trouble when Jackie and my friends find out," Delya sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Come **on**, who cares about what they think? I've known you longer than anyone else!'

"I do because Jackie, Jade, Captain Black—_everyone_ at Section 13 is my friend. I'm not about to ruin the friendship we have because of you. And we're both centuries old! Of course we've known each other for awhile! Not that I've exactly enjoyed those years..."

"Then I'll just leave," the son of Shendu jumped off his chair and headed towards the front door.

"It's not going to help you if you walk out there by yourself," Delya called after him, digging into her cereal.

"And why not?"

"You don't know anything about blending with the environment."

Drago laughed in Delya's face. "Ha! Watch me!"

"Watch you get caught by the military, Area 51 and eventually Section 13? Yeah, I'll be watching with a bag of popcorn and a cup of soda in my hands," Delya suggested. "But then again, I might be lying. Besides, if I recall you were the one who wanted to stay with me."

"Section 13 will never catch me, neither will human agencies. They're too stupid to realize that magic exists," he shrugged off the scary thought.

"Or maybe they do know you exist. To the public, the agencies dismiss all magic but they all know what's going down. They might take you apart limb from limb or take your demon chi for their reasons. Either that or they'll give you to other to use your scales for women's accessories, like shoes and purses." Now Delya was definitely exaggerating. The son of Shendu popped back into the kitchen and sat in a chair to the right of his partner.

"Rrr! I dislike you sometimes," Drago sat back in his kitchen chair. He rested his head on his hand. He muttered, "So then we have another deal?"

"I never said anything about that," Delya shook her head. "But I'll think about it," Delya reached for Drago's hair but it was his turn to brush her off.

"Don't. Touch. My. Hair," Drago warned.

"Aw, don't be a baby," Delya smiled with a sing-song voice. Drago was about to leave the kitchen again when Delya grabbed his arm. "That is what you get for harassing me yesterday."

"It wasn't harassment. It was a partnership deal."

"Yeah, sure it was. So what exactly happened when you got out of the Netherworld that you decided to seek refuge with me?" Delya asked. "What's your cause?" Drago's eyes grew wide for a quick second, then turned into little red slits. He faced away from his partner. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why won't you—"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Drago hissed, stepping up to Delya. Measuring off at each other, Drago was still a full 2 inches taller than his housemate.

"O-Okay," Delya silently gulped. He marched off into the garage of the house and slammed the doors behind him. The demon dame could smell the brimstone trail he left behind.

"Your anger issues have certainly got better."

* * *

"Did you finish it yet?" Kimikaz knocked on his business partners door. This was about the sixth time he had done this, for as time slowly passed by he was getting nervous. Delya had seemed like a very nice woman, but to Kimikaz something was off about her. It wasn't anything on the outside, but the man felt as if Delya were different that the common woman.

"Yes, yes. Don't get your knickers in a twist," Tân called. A few moments later Tân opened the door, holding a small vial filled with purple liquid to the top.

"That's it? What's it called?"

"This is the venom from a hemlock, a deadly killer plant. Over the next few hours, she will feel a very painful death," Tân chuckled. He noticed Kimikaz's pale face.

"What's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for that girl. She should be feeling sorry for herself once she drinks the venom."

"I'm just in disbelief that Delya happens to be Evangeline's niece," Kimikaz rubbed the area between his eyebrows.

"Be glad she wasn't the daughter. She could've inherited any of her chi magic skills," Tân added on serious note. "I don't think she even knows about it. She seemed pretty oblivious when you said that you and Evangeline were trading looks at each other the first time you met."

Kimikaz scratched the top of his head as he intensely stared at the bubbling poison. "Like I said, for the first time in my life, I'm going to regret my decision."

* * *

"Black. Delya, how are you?" Captain Black's bright voice started off. Hearing her voice was one of the good things of the morning this particular day. The man was exactly an 'early worm', as people say. Her job permits him to be so.

"Yeah, about yesterday..."

"If this is about the sudden outburst, then I was never mad at you about that. Grieving is just one of the many things people have to go through in life."

"About the grieving thing...," Delya took out a deep breath then muttered," I would like to go to the counseling."

"What was that? Delya, you're going to have to speak up. The construction workers are really loud today with some machines outside!" Captain Black yelled into the phone. It sounded like an angry swarm of jackhammers hammering away outside the underground base.

_You must really be enjoying me grovel here, don't you?_ Delya rubbed the area between her eyes. She already had her sling purse and her car keys ready.

"I said you can sign me up for the grief counseling thing. I'll be right there," Delya grumbled louder.

"Great! I already signed up a doctor for you after you left yesterday!"

Delya quirked an eyebrow. "How'd you know I would be signing up so soon?"

"Just a very good guess. Just kidding, I've had agents do the same thing you did."

"More like a very lucky guess." Delya rolled her eyes before hanging up. She set the house phone down on the table and turned around to find Drago staring at her. She could feel his red eyes piercing the back of her head.

"May I help you?" Delya backed away from her housemate. She was nervous of another sudden outburst.

"Who was that? Captain Whack?" he crossed his arms.

"...Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Drago made the two-fingered sign with his eyes and pointed to her own. "I'm watching you."

Delya could only stare in bewilderment as Drago jumped in front of her TV and started watching a foreign sitcom. _Now I really regret taking him in._

* * *

Jackie woke up the next room with a bad feeling-he was sick. His head felt heavy, the eyes burned, the nose felt stuffed, the chest felt congested and everything from his legs down was numb. Not to forget that Jackie was cold.

"Is it just me, or did someone turn te temperature up too wow [pronounced 'whoa']?" Jackie shivered as he sat down in-between Jade and Tohru at a kitchen table.

"What's up Uncle Jackie?" Jade said in a cheery tone. "Delya's going to be coming for—Jackie, you look pale."

"Palwe?" Jackie looked down at his own hands. "I am not palwe."

Tohru felt his friends forehead and waited for a while. "Looks like you've got a fever."

"Bwa-? A fever? I feewh perfectwy-," Jackie made a horrendous sneeze. The agents, Tohru and Jade made a quick 'Bless you'.

"You sneezed! Lemme get the thermometer for ya..." Jade got out of her chair but Jackie grabbed her hoodie and pulled his niece back.

"No Jade. I am-ah-ah-AHCHOO!" Jackie pushed in his chair and coughed, beating his chest.

"Bless you Jackie," the agents said once more.

"Thank you," Jackie breathed. He took an apprehensive look at Jade, whose face said 'Exactly'.

"Sounds like Jackie needs doctor," Tohru stepped into the scene. He took a good distance away from his friend so he wouldn't get sick either.

"Jackie does not need doctor! He needs garlic!" Uncle screeched.

"I don't need anyfing," Jackie contagiously sniffed.

"Maybe if we had the Horse Talisman..." Tohru stopped talking. He sheepishly scratched his head.

Uncle shook his head at Tohru's suggestion. "But Shendu reabsorbed his powers when he and his foolish son got sent back on one-way trip to Demon Netherworld."

"Oh yes. I remember now," the Japanese giant combed through his hair. "Perhaps some magic or garlic could help..."

Jackie coughed and violently shook his head. "I don't want garwic! Can't you peopul just weave me awone?"

"And get everyone else sick? No way!" Jade responded.

"I want propow medicine. No magic invowved."

"Do not worry; no magic from Uncle. But you still will have to eat garlic. Garlic is one of the quickest ways to ward off common illnesses," Uncle took out a garlic clover and dropped it in Jackie's hand. Jackie looked at the plant and gulped. The smell and taste of clover was repressed in the back of the Chinese man's mind.

"Fine."

* * *

"Delilah dear, describe how you feel now and maybe provide some details as to why you feel these emotions," David (Captain Black's assigned therapist) asked Delya. They were in a little room that David had called his office.

"Let's see...," Delya trailed off in thought. She was mainly thinking about her situation at home with her new housemate Drago. "Jeez, I dunno. Don't really think about that stuff."

"How about let's tap into those feelings and hear what's going on in your head, eh?" David half-smiled. Delya grunted as she made herself comfortable in her chair.

"I guess...I guess I feel angry and still confused over my Aunti's murder, a little tired from the lack of sleep, frustrated b-b-because of-."

"You're also frustrated over your aunt's murder?" David finished.

The female rubbed her head. "Uh, yeah. Yes, that is what fuels my frustration. I'm also frustrated that I have to be here. It seems weak when I talk about my feelings," Delya flipped her hair behind her back. "I even hate saying the word 'feelings'. It freaks me out on the inside."

"Don't worry, it's okay. In therapy, you're supposed to share with others on how you feel. Do you share how you felt with your aunt before her demise?" David was writing what Delya was saying in his personal client notebook. The demon dame shivered, a warm chill going up and down her spine. Delya could've sworn her eyes had gone full-on demon red at the way her therapist plainly described Aunti's death. She took a deep breath, crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"She was the only human I was comfortable talking to," the demon quieted down and bit her lip. "She was the only family available for me. Now that she's gone, it's going to take me **centuries** to be my normal self. I'm slowly going to roam the Earth, becoming the true demon I am and aim at enslaving humanity," when Delya opened her eyes, David had stopped writing and looked at his client with wide eyes. She just shrugged with a nonchalant face.

"What can I say? It's nothing but the truth."

"Ok, moving on. How about talking about your parents?" A small, electric shock ran up and down the strand of her hair. The pupil of the eyes seemed to dig into the color red-violet. Blood boiled in her veins.

"I absolutely refuse to talk about my parents. That is my personal business and mine only. Next question," she barked. The therapist flipped through some pages in his journal.

"So you're the only child?"

"Yep. Sucks to be me, doesn't it?"

"I was an only child too," David said as he started writing. Delya smiled at that.

"Were you spoiled?"

"Mm, not exactly. I mean, I still got in trouble since I was the only child. I hated how my friends at school and colleagues all had sisters, brothers and even adopted siblings. My parents thought only one of me would be okay," David smiled as he wrote down more notes. As he began to wrap up he said," Is there any other questions you wondered about grief?"

"I was super spoiled. When will I stop being sad and return to my normally upbeat self?"

David clicked his pen and took his time to write the question down in his notebook. "Delilah, you must understand that grieving for people takes a different pace. For your friends, it might take about 6-7 months. For you, it might take about one to two years tops providing the information you gave me about how close you were with the deceased. Do you know how many times you healthily expressed your feelings?"

"Lots of times and I'm not bothering to count. I'm mostly angry though. Mostly at myself because I wasn't there to watch her and she was always there to watch me 24 hours, whether I liked it or not," Delya combed through her hair. "Usually I try to think of the good things that could happen but when they don't, I stop trying. Call me a pessimist or whatever, I don't care. And don't call me by my real name."

The therapist nodded. "You don't feel feel suicidal, do you?"

"_**What**_?"

"Suicidal thought? Do you ever feel like you want to kill yourself?" David asked, still writing in her book.

"You know what? I quit. I'm leaving this stupid session because right now, this session is just...just...just too much! I knew feelings was just something that let down my guard," Delya stormed out the room and darted out the door. The demon dame slammed the door behind her. David could only shake his head and continue writing in his book. "I _told_ Captain Black not to sign me up for this..."

"Dewya!"

Delya whipped around to see Jackie with his bright red nose, swollen red eyes and wearing a baby blue blanket around him.

"Jackie? Are you sick?" Delya tapped Jackie's nose. He sniffed, sneezed and swiped her hand away.

"I just have a head cowd," Jackie took a tissue from his pocket and held it to his nose. He made a big blow."

"Ew! Dude, if you're sick please take it somewhere else. I don't want to get sick too," Delya took two steps away from her friend.

"I am not sick! It is just a simpwe, wittle head cowd!" Jackie whimpered.

"Your forehead's like fire! You most definitely have a fever!" the demon dame backed off from her friend. She didn't want to catch a fever either.

"I am _not_ hot! I feel cowd as ever! It's wike Antarctica down hwere!"

"Yeah, you would know how cold Antarctica is," Delya chuckled.

"Of course I woud. I've been there before," Jackie rolled his eyes. "And my head reawy hurts..."

"Maybe you should go lie down," Delya said as the demon led her friend to his room but he backed away from her. "Like I said, you don't want others to get sick too."

"Okay, okay. But what about if anofer jewew reveaws itsewf?" the archaeologist was beginning to worry. It was usually when bad stuff happen to him specifically, his job gets five times harder.

"If it does, then we'll call you. We could probably use your sickness to pass on to the enemy," Delya laughed.

Jackie could only make a nasally sigh. "I'm onwy saying I have a fever because of you and everyone ewse in Section 13 who said so. I stiwl say I have a simpwe head cowd."

"Whatever you say Jackie."


	11. Chapter 11

Delya felt bad for Jackie, so she had decided to take Jackie to his room. If it wasn't for her, the archaeologist would have fallen asleep on the cold floor. He went into his room and changed into his pajamas for bed. Once he tucked himself in,

"Jeez Jackie. How did you get sick anyway?" Delya could only help but raise her eyebrow. Jackie covered his mouth and made a phlegm-filled cough.

"I weally don't know. I just woke up wike fis," came his sorry response.

"Don't forget why do you talk so weird?"

Jackie could only make a painful and sick face. Jade abruptly pushed open the door holding a big, red, almost overflowing bowl of soup in her hands.

"Hey Uncle Jackie! I'm here to help," the niece said with a wide smile on her face.

"Jade, I'm twying to take a nap. Can you pwease keep it quiet?" Jackie pleaded.

"Sorry Jackie. Uncle told me that you had to drink this soup before doing anything, even though it stinks...," Jade set the bowl down on Jackie's nightstand. Jackie hid under his comforter and Delya backed away from the soup.

"Is that a stink bomb or something?" the girl covered her nose with her sleeveless vest. "It's so bad it's about to make me cry from the smell!"

"Yeah, go figure," Jade rolled her eyes. "Uncle put a lot of garlic, onions and a lot of greens in it. He said it was the quickest way for the sickness to go."

"Fat'wl make me smewl wike Uncoh!" Jackie squealed.

"So his name's Uncle Jiang, hunh?" Delya asked, still covering her nose. Jade nodded.

"So we found out. But he doesn't really want us to call him that all the time. I guess he's so used to hearing just 'Uncle'," Jade shrugged.

Jackie threw his comforter from his head and picked up the bowl. He handed it back to his niece. "I'wl eat fis when I get up fist fing. Keep it wam foh me in the micohwave."

"But Jackie! What if there's some mission and you're not going? You're going to need to get up and take this so you can get better fast and start kicking butt again!" Jade cheered for her uncle

"If you do lwet me take a nap, you'wl hep me get a good west. Once I wake up, I'wl be much betteh than befoe," Jackie said in the sweetest but sickest way possible. Some saliva landed on Jade's face and some in his food.

"You can just say it, don't spray it," the girl wiped the saliva off her face and rolled her eyes as she walked out of her uncle's room.

"I think I'll be going home too. I know this is pretty random but here's a cough-drop. I picked it up from David's office when he wasn't looking," Delya whispered into the archaeologist's ear as she dropped them on the nightstand.

"Fanks a lot," Jackie yawned. He turned over and quietly mumbled to himself, "Fat soup smewled an awfu wot wike tomato juice."

Delya opened the door and quietly let herself out. Behind her, Captain Black was discussing with two of the construction workers. Today there wasn't much construction, mainly because they were taking a break.

"...I heard it's going to be one of the hottest days of the summer," one of them wiped his forehead after he took off his construction hat. It was clear the sun was brutal because the worker's skin tone looked a lot darker than in the morning and he was sweating like crazy. Half of his shirt was drenched and the men smelled like old gym socks.

"So you're taking an early break?" Black raised his brow.

"Yes. The good thing is that the sun will help the new concrete we put on here dry faster," the middle-aged man chuckled.

"Alright, I understand. Will this resume tomorrow or sometime really soon?" the captain rubbed his head. He wasn't mad, just a little perplexed over what he was being told. It was hot almost every day and no one really complained. Now this?

"Yes, we'll come back early in the morning. It isn't as hot there, so we'll get a bit of a head start," the second, younger man wiped his wet beard. Delya (who was now standing behind Captain Black) slightly cringed and tried hard not to make a face.

"We'll be here around 5:45 a.m. If not that, then expect us working by 6:00," the first man noted

"That'll do. I'm usually up around that time, so I shouldn't be disturbed by it," the chief replied, not feeling so confused anymore. "You might want to stay in shade or something. You look like you could suffer heatstroke, both of you."

The younger one laughed and waved to the chief. "Right, we'll keep that in mind." They walked to the door, opposite of Delya and Captain Black and began to chat.

"So what's going on? Why do they want to continue their work tomorrow?" Delya asked her boss after the chat.

"It's because of the heat and some of the workers are passing out."

Delya pretended to fan herself, even though Section 13 was cool enough. "Well yeah. When I walked to here in the morning, it wasn't this hot. The weather gets wacky in the city."

"_Everything_ gets wacky in this city. It makes me wonder why I haven't committed myself to an asylum yet...," the chief rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I don't see you packing your bags yet," Delya took the joke. Captain Black could only make an annoyed/amused glare. Delya nervously chuckled, placing a hand on Black's shoulder

"I was just kidding, big guy. Anyway, the therapy session went...okay."

"Okay as in storming off in the middle of a session?" Augustus smirked. He took Delya's friendly invite.

Delya groaned, "I confess. I hate how they made me talk about everything."

"That's their job. They are supposed to do that in order to help you. Anyway, I don't want you to get involved in Aunti's case at all."

"Wait—what does that have to do with the therapy session?"

Captain Black looked at Delya with a serious tone. "I'm talking about your aunt's murder case."

"Captain Black, I—."

"Ah, ah, ah. Let me finish," The bald captain stuck his finger up to cease Delya from talking. "I _was_ going to tell you in the morning, but you hung up so I had to wait to see you. If I hear from anyone about you working on the case behind my back, I will have to let you go from Section 13."

The demon dame felt a tight knot form deep inside her stomach. When she felt that, he knew that wasn't good. "You mean _fire_ me?"

"Black slowly nodded, his emerald green eyes piercing Delya's forehead. "Exactly. I might even have to erase your memory to keep the underground base's identity."

Delya looked shot down, then put on a worn smile on his face. "I was trying to say that that wasn't my intentions. I wouldn't try to find out what happened to Aunti because that is the proper authority's job, like you. I have nothing to gain from trying to look for Aunti. I'm too tired to play the 'revenge game'."

"Really?"

"Well yeah. I wasn't a type of person to honor the fallen by taking someone else's life," Delya had a hopeless look on her face. For some reason, the demon dame knew that didn't sound like herself. The only way to change that was the change the conversation entirely.

"What time is it?"

Captain Black took a quick look at his watch, then to his friend. "2:30."

"Oh crap I gotta go!" Delya ran out the nearest exit to her right, knowing she had forgotten something.

"You forgot about your bag!" called Augustus. Delya poked her head in the door, seeing Captain Black with an unamused look on his aged face. She ran back in and made a sheepish smile to her coworker/boss.

"Buh-bye!" she ran back out the door. The chief could only shake his head with a victory smirk.

"Such a young and hyper lady."

* * *

_Finally she's here. That's some perfect timing, if I do say so myself_, Kimikaz thought as he put on his dark sunglasses. From the inside of his limo, he could see Delya crossing from the opposite street up ahead. It looked like she was writing something on her bare arms with a marker.

"Tim, I want you to stay here. Once I get back, rev up the car and take the route 74 back to HQ. I don't want you to rush, just take your time. Understand?"

Tim looked in the mirror and eventually met eye to eye with his employer. "Yessir."

"I'll be right back, so don't go anywhere," Kimikaz slowly opened his door and stepped out, taking a big breath of fresh air. His cold feet had been long gone, so it was back to the old sick and twisted Kimikaz again. The green dust from the hemlock lay safely in his left pocket.

_Hemlock, check. Intention, check. Murder, about to be checked. Getting away with it, check._

As Delya came closer to passing Kimikaz, he could heard her mumble, "I'm going to have to get some men's deodorant. That'll be okay for him. Plus some sleeveless shirts since he hates sleeves."

_'He'? I wonder who 'he' is. Maybe it's Delilah's boyfriend. She must've tricked to me about that._

Fortunately, Kimikaz had stopped in front of a San Francisco coffee shop called Brew Ha Ha. Most people loved to stop by there, especially in the afternoons because of how less crowded it was. Kimikaz had liked it because it had his favorite coffee like no other; marble.

The executive slicked back his hair and took a majestic step forward as Delya strolled along. Instead of them both getting hit, Kimikaz could only watch as Delya took a graceful, yet humiliating fall to the concrete.

"Ow! Watch where you put your foot!" Delya growled as she wiped herself off. An infinity of explicit words were ready to explode out of Delya's hot head to her mouth as she soon saw who she was talking to.

"It's you again," she muttered. Kimikaz couldn't help but raise a suspicious eyebrow. He had thought they were cool the last time they met

"You've changed since our meeting back at my office. Everything alright with you?"

Delya pushed her unruly hair from her face with a frown. "Whatever..."

_This attitude of hers is new_, the millionaire placed his hand on her shoulder. Delya gently shook it off with a worn smile

"Ah, don't worry about it. It's nothing," came the young woman's response.

"You don't want to talk about this over coffee inside?" Kimikaz swung open the Brew Ha Ha coffee shop. Feeling in the mood for something to drink, Delya enthusiastically nodded.

"Sure, why not?"

Meanwhile...

"Where is she?" Drago grumbled as he paced around in the kitchen with his shirt off. It was 3:00 and the effects of the hot summer sun was starting to heat up the house. Luckily Delya wasn't there, for she would have surely reprimanded Drago for being half naked. The son of Shendu was tempted to strip off everything. Even though his shirt was off and he rolled up his pants to knee-length, Drago still managed to sweat. He looked like a vanilla melting Popsicle.

"She never told me how to adjust the temperature," he grumbled as he took a look at the contraption on the wall. The current inside temp was 71. In other words, normal.

"This is getting really bad," the son of Shendu said as he took a piece of paper and fanned himself with it. It didn't help much, so with his hand he burned it. The ashes fell to the ground as he blew it away.

"I've never been this hot with clothes on and while fighting," Drago mumbled angrily as he wiped some sweat off his biceps.

"This fire demon is gonna be fried soon if Delya doesn't get back," Drago said as he smelled under his arms. "And with some personal hygiene."

* * *

"And that's why I don't feel as...energized as I was before," Delya shrugged as she took a black straw and began to mix her coffee. She had just finished explaining her whole story of Aunti's death and her therapist scene. She left out anything everything dealing with Drago.

"That _is_ a very long story. I'm sorry for your inconvenient loss," Kimikaz grinned as he watched Delya slurp up her coffee. "I remember when I turned 10 years old, my favorite aunt died. She had been with me in the hardest of times," Kimikaz sipped his marble with a cherry on top.

"Yeah," Delya twirled a strand of her hair. "My father died when I was young. My mother...my mother died while in jail, I'm pretty sure. She was incarcerated for a crime I don't know if she committed or not. After that, I had to stay with my aunt. She was literally the closest thing to the mother **and** father I lost," Delya tweaked her sad story.

"Similar story, different ending. My parents were there for me the whole time but when I didn't do what they wanted me to, they abandoned me. They wanted me to go after the family job but I figured that that is not the life for me. Then they got angry with me and left me on my own. I decided to work my way into business and here I am now," the Golden Rainbow CEO summarized his life story. It was tragic, but it did bring back quite disturbing memories for him.

Delya took a big gulp of her hot drink before setting it down again. "I bet it took a lot of work to get where you're at today."

"Oh yes. But work is required to get anywhere in life, isn't it?"

"You could say that. Anyway, this really tastes good. I usually don't like coffee but this one is an exception," Delya clicked her tongue to get the taste off. She couldn't see the green being mixed into brown liquid, but Kimikaz could. It was he who had secretly mixed the poison into Delya's drink behind her back. "This tastes a lot like peppermint."

_Going to taste a lot more like _death_ in a few hours..._

"This is exactly why this is my favorite coffee shop," the businessman chuckled as Delya started to sip her drink. Now it was time for serious questions.

"When you passed by me, you mentioned something about buying men's hygiene and comfortable men's clothing. May I ask why is that?"

"Ah, well..." the demon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. She didn't think anyone had heard her.

"Did you somehow get a boyfriend from the last time I talked to you? If I somehow pressured you, I didn't mean to do so," the businessman questioned.

Delya blushed. "Oh! No, I—It has nothing to do with you, honest. Those things were just for a friend. He was in major need for them."

"Was he homeless?"

"More or less. He's actually a longtime childhood friend of mine. He recently ran away from his current home and told me most of his story a few days back. He's trying to start over, so I'm bringing him some...er..._manly_ gifts. It's only going to be for awhile. He'll leave."

"Still, it is quite peculiar that you're buying men's deodorant for your friend," said Kimikaz.

Delya blushed harder and when she did, the girl got a little angry. "Drago isn't my boyfriend! _He's just a friend,"_ she warned, swiping her hair out of her face and gulped the rest of her coffee.

_"So 'Drago' arrived yesterday?_ the executive tried hard not to make a face in front of his aggravated acquaintance.

"Alright, no hard feelings. I've got to go. I have a mandatory meeting with some of my co-workers," Kimikaz looked at the time on his watch and out to his limo. He could see his driver Tim playing a game on his mobile phone. He turned to Delya. "Your house isn't too far from here, right?"

"It's not."

"Would you like me take you home in my limo?"

Delya touched her stomach and made a slightly painful face. "Nah. I got to head home and maybe get some Tylenol. If anyone can protect herself on these streets, it's me. I know martial arts, so I'll be cool."

"Kimikaz stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "That's funny. Since I was 15, I took in martial arts—mixed martial arts."

Delya stood up and her eyes widened, realizing what that meant. "Is that like UFC?"

"Yes, but I'm not brutal. I practice regularly, about three times a week. Four times if I have time on my hands."

"That's cool. Anyway, I gotta go. I'll just buy the other things later," the undercover demon said as she walked out the coffee shop and headed down the sidewalk she was going on before. As she took her steps, she felt her energy draining and her feeling drowsy.

"I felt fine before. What's wrong now?" she groaned. She didn't see Kimikaz behind her on his mobile phone looking up information.

"Let's see...hemlock takes...about several minute for this poison to run completely in her system. The girl will be paralyzed in the next hour. By tomorrow, Delya will be history."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So I've shaken off some of my writers block and I'm ready to keep on with the writing! I know I've been out for awhile, I get busy with the real life so yeah. You know how it is. Now that I know how to fully focus and function to write again, you can probably expect a new chapter every week or two. Depends on my mood.**

"Where the **hell** were you? I was roasting in this house! I should be used to the heat but instead, I was going to die! How is that even possible?!" Drago boomed. When Delya had stepped through the front door, she was bombarded with a long lecture about heat by a furious demon. It was hard for her to pay attention to anything because of her illness.

"Drago, leave me alone..."

Drago took in a breath and quieted himself down, dark and heavy smoke leaking out from his nose and mouth. "Can't you at least explain to me how this air conditioner thing works exactly?" Drago said as he pointed to the small AC on the wall. Delya took in a shaky breath and bent over. It was hard for her to stand straight up without touching her abdomen.

"I don't feel so good," came her woozy reply. What Drago was saying was going in one ear and out the other.

"I don't feel so good either in this heat! Now show me how to change the AC!" Drago demanded. He looked at Delya with a worried face. He slightly winced. "Did you eat something rotten earlier this morning?"

"I'm not hungry. I had coffee with a friend. I think I might be allergic to something that was in there," Delya wheezed, holding her stomach. "This is gonna be bad."

Drago grabbed the paining girl's hand and began to pull her into the living room. "Why don't you lie down and I'll see what's—." Delya wobbled around, dropped to her knees and from there she fell face-first on the floor. As her body hit the ground, it made a dull _thud_.

"Oh no," the fire demon groaned as he took a step back and dove to the ground after his friend. "Delya. Delilah? Come on Delilah, get up."

He placed a hand on the side of her neck and her right shoulder blade. "Good, she's still alive. I don't know what I would do if she died." The fire demon turned his housemate on her back. He placed his head in his dried sweat arms.

"Her hair...," Drago touched Delya's hair. The strands of purple hair once there had blended in with the rest of her natural color; black. When he checked inside her mouth, her tongue was a sickly green. Seeing that almost made him throw up himself.

"Wait a minute...I've seen things like this. That's the color—and smell of the plant hemlock. Somebody planted the hemlock and added in something extra. If I don't hurry up and find an antidote soon, Delya's gonna be dead."

Drago couldn't help but let heavy smoke fall from his mouth and from his nose. A lion-like growl slithered through his teeth. "Dammit! I haven't been here for a **full day** and Delya is on the brink of death. I didn't even get a chance to tell her why I came to her for refuge. That bastard Tân must've tracked me down by trying to take her out first. Dr. Kim must be onto me too."

The son of Shendu picked his ex-friend up bridal style and carried her into the living room. Many curses flew from his mouth to the wizard, his partner and the hemlock. Before he knew it, he was sending curses to Delya for drinking the hemlock and not knowing it. The human/dragon adolescent began to pace around in the kitchen, thinking of an antidote and what to do.

"Wait...if Chan finds out that Delya might be terminally ill he'll end up finding me, I'll get framed and sent back to that demon hell prison," the dragon put a hand to his chin. He placed both hands on her head as if he were about to rip his hair out. "Err! Too much pressure!"

"Good thing dear old mother taught me how to deal with things like poisoning, especially when the victim is a demon," Drago mumbled as he opened some of the upper kitchen cabinet doors. With his demon speed, he took out multiple kitchen ingredients and set them down one by one and lined up.

"Tannic acid. Just what I need," the son of Shendu smirked as he took out a clean cup from the dish-washing machine and a metal mixing bowl from another cabinet.

"Luckily, the antidote ingredients for a demon hemlock poisoning is able to be found in this kitchen."

* * *

Jackie awoke from his nap feeling a little better than he did before. His nose wasn't so stuffy, his chest wasn't as congested and his body wasn't as achy. Overall, Jackie still didn't feel at his best.

"That nap was one of the most refreshing I've had in a while. Must have been a quick-passing illness," Jackie said as he stretched his arms. He gasped and touched his throat in disguise.

"Hey! I can talk properly again! I'm totally better! Ah-ah-_CHOO_!" snot flew from Jackie's nose onto his hands. He recoiled in disgust and bitterly sighed.

"Welp, almost better."

"Hey Jackinator? You okay?" Jade said as she peaked into her uncle's room. She was patiently waiting for Jackie to wake up. Uncle Jiang, Tohru and even Captain Black have tried eagerly to ward Jade away from Jackie's door. Even if it had worked, she always came back to Jackie's door.

"Bwah! Jade!" Jackie did his signature beat on the chest. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I don't know. I've had nothing to do since you fell asleep and there's been nothing new going on around here," the Chinese girl shrugged. "I could only wait until you've woken up."

"That's...er..nice. I think I'm going to get a glass of water now," Jackie eyed his niece with suspicion as he moved to the door. Jade put her hand like she was part of the police.

"Uncle Jac-kie," Jade said in a sing-song voice. "Remember what you said before you took a nap?"

The Chinese archaeologist raised his brow with a frown. Did he forget to do anything in particular? "What did I say?"

Jade stepped outside of Jackie's room and came back in with the tomato-smelling vegetable soup Uncle have made earlier. Jackie made a 'I'm going to hurl' face when his niece shoved it in front of him.

"How about this: if you don't make me drink all of that—thing, then maybe I'll let you come with me on the next fighting and forces of darkness thing," Jackie whispered in his niece's ear. Jade's face lit up after Jackie had said "let you come."

"Really, Uncle Jackie? Don't try and trick me," the niece stuck a warning finger in her uncle's face. The man honestly nodded. Jade set down the vegetable soup and made a fist pump to herself. "You got it! But I'll do the deal on **one condition**."

"And that is...?"

"You have to drink _some_ of this juice. If you try to trick Uncle without taking anything, he'll definitely know you're lying. You know how he is with the magic mojo. Just take five spoonfuls and we're good," Jade said cheerfully. From her pocket, she pulled out a small and metal spoon, handing it to Jackie. He shuddered.

"I hope this is going to be worth it," the archaeologist said as he dipped his spoon in the bowl. He cautiously took the spoon in his mouth, almost hurling it up. As the soup rolled down his tongue, Jackie was on the verge of tears because his nose was burning.

"Ew—!

* * *

"This tastes _disgusting_! **What** is this?! Tastes like vinegar, lemons and dirty gym socks!" Delya screamed in disgust. In the same situation, Drago had poured his medicinal drink down Delya's throat while she was unconscious. Apparently the taste was so bad, the demon dame almost gagged. During the ordeal, Drago struggled to keep himself from doubling over.

"Not that I know what dirty gym socks taste like..."

"This is the antidote to your illness. You're lucky you can still breathe while you can," Drago sat across from the dame.

"Yeah but it was still horrible!"

"You think that's bad. Do you want to know what's it's made of?" Drago raised a suspicious eyebrow. Delya reluctantly shook her head. The demon touched Delya's cold cheek. "You're still sick. What did you do to get sick in such a short amount of time.

"Would it be a coincidence if Jackie had ended up getting the flu?" the demon dame shrugged. When this reached Drago's ears, he snorted.

"You mean Chan? _Jackie Chan_?" the son of Shendu started to laugh manically. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Chan?"

"Well yeah. He had a really bad 'head cold' or so he claimed," Delya made the quotation sign with her fingers. Drago burst out into more laughter.

"Jackie Chan, fighter of demons and keeper of world balance, can't fight off a simple "head cold"? Oh man! If my folks were here listening to this, they would definitely not believe this. This is comic **gold**! I would have to seriously risk my safety going over to Section 13 just to see Chan's condition. Speaking of which, you almost died if it wasn't for my medicine so you have to drink some more."

"What happened anyway? All I remember was you talking about heat," the demon dame rubbed her head in pain.

"I was _yelling_ at you for leaving me alone in a baking house and you just passed out in front of me. Like I said, you're a very lucky demon..." the son of Shendu lectured his host.

"Okay, okay. I get it. What do you want from me, a "thank you"?" the demon rolled her eyes.

"That's what I've been waiting for," the demon dragon crossed his arms over his chest. "Ever since your aunt's been gone, you haven't been acting like your normal self. Not to mention that, but it seems like your face and skin are getting dry."

The demon dame pouted, turning away from her guest. "I am not."

Drago walked out of the living room and returned seconds later with a handheld mirror. He shoved it in the drained girl's face. "Wanna bet? Your skin has become paler, your eyes are sunken in with dark circles. There's a whole lot more I could describe that's different about you, but I think you can figure those out yourself if you take a look."

Delya almost snatched the mirror from Drago's hand, staring into it intensely. By seeing her tired and drained face, she almost didn't want to believe it. Her hair was brittle with split ends. She noticed the purple in her hair gone. Her purple eyes were turning darker and the natural birthmarks on her skin were fading away.

"What's the point of worrying about my own health in these kind of times? My guardian has left me to go to another world and I am still here." Drago took the mirror away from her.

"Dimples, I'm trying to help you be normal. You can't complain about how bad a dish is, just drink it. Would you rather drink a disgusting dish that will eventually save your life or not take the 'disgusting thing' and eventually die over time?"

Delya sadly brush her hair out the way and made a hopeless sigh. "The first choice."

"First, how did you manage to get hemlock in you? What, when you were walking did you just decided to take a plant and eat it out of curiosity?" the demon crossed his arms disapprovingly.

Delya ignored Drago's sarcastic remark and began to think. "The Frosty Jacks I had this morning seemed fishy. It was getting close to its expiration date, but it tasted pretty good. I didn't get anything else to eat except for the coffee I had with a friend. It was pretty good."

Drago made a genuine nod. He took the ladle and scooped the discolored drink in a small cup. He handed it out to his housemate. "As they say, bottoms up."

"Thanks a lot, genius."

* * *

"Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao," Uncle chanted. The White Diamond sat on his study desk, which was cleared from all the books.

_The Diamond's dark power seems to be slowly slipping away. I need to try harder_, the elder man thought. He noticed the circling chi beginning to dive into the gem. The room was now lit up with green.

"Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao," Uncle Jiang chanted faster. Even without his magical items, Jiang could feel the dark power washing away. Suddenly, the gemstone levitated upwards. It left an obvious trail of green chi falling down.

"Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di ZAO!" With's Uncle's last breath the diamond fell back on the wooden desk. The chi stopped coming from his blow fish and lizard, making the room dark again; the way he had left it.

"Finally," he made a little smile as he picked it up with his index finger and thumb. He didn't feel any shock or see any dark power. "The dark spell that once cursed this gem is now gone, thanks to my magic. The only thing that is bad about gem is that it takes too much time for removal spell. Uncle needs glass of water."

The Chinese man let himself out of his room for some fresh air and looked around. It was chaos around Section 13 as usual; Kepler was busy tweaking some things to his newest invention, Jade was playing with his small and newest voice-control robot, Jackie was busy chasing her and scolding her for being disobedient and Tohru was watching gleefully, as if this was a comedic movie.

"Why can't everyone just be quiet and take a seat?" he massaged the area in between his eyes. Tohru snapped his attention to his former sensei.

"Uncle, you have finally finished the removal spell?" Tohru put down his cookie.

"As if you haven't noticed already. Would anyone like to try their hand with the Diamond? Uncle does not want it," the man held it up. He felt a tug on his vest.

"Please please **please** Uncle! Lemme try! Lemme try! I _really really really_ want to try it ever since yesterday!" Jade begged. Her eyes looked like she was about to get on her knees to beg. She had done this constantly and it was starting to get on Uncle's nerves.

"I don't know..."

"C'mon! Comparing me to Jackie, do you think he'll do a better job than me?" the niece pointed to Jackie, who gave her a disapproving face.

"Uncle, how about we just talk to Captain Black and he can arrange us a—ow!" Jackie cringed and rubbed his head.

"How do you expect us to fight Tân and forces of darkness if we do not know how to use item that we fight for? Do quick test drive!" Uncle screeched and shoved it in Jackie's face. The archaeologist reluctantly reached for the gemstone but Jade caught it instead.

"This is going to be **so** cool! So watcha got for me, Diamond? You gonna give me some heat beam eyes? Maybe see through vision? Walking through stuff? Maybe up the walls?" the little girl's imagination was filled with the coolest superpowers. The Diamond just sat in Jade's hand. The only thing it did was shine brightly by the overhead lights of the building. It seemed as if it totally disregarded what Jade was saying.

"Hey, it's not working!" the teenager started panicking. She waved it around in the air, then moved to touching some of her body parts.

"Do you feel any different than before?" Tohru asked. Jade shook her head. She angrily threw the medium-smallish jewel in Uncle's hand again.

"I think it's broken, Uncle. I don't know what you did to it, but it won't work. It's like a dud!"

Jackie shrugged in a playful manner. "Maybe it doesn't like to be bossed around by little girls," he said as he playfully ruffled his niece's hair. Jade gave could only give him a death glare.

"Or maybe because when Uncle had removed the dark magic from the jewel, its powers were taken up with it. It is probably powerless," Tohru cupped his chin, bending over to take a closer look at the jewel. "But it does look very pretty. Perhaps this could be used as an accessory..."

Jade rolled his eyes. "Yeah, pretty **and** a dud."

"Good because it's a dud, then I can take it to—BWAH!" Jackie shrieked as he took two steps back and thumped his chest.

Uncle also reeled back in shock, covering his aged ears. "Jackie, do not scream when Uncle is around! You could give him heart attack!"

"N-No! Uncle Jiang, you're floating!" Jackie pointed. Jade gave her uncle an 'are you crazy look?'

"Jackie, I don't know if your sickness interfered with your ears—hey! Uncle is floating!" the girl pointed to the space under the old man's feet. It was a good foot and a half off the floor. She then pointed to Uncle and said to Tohru, "That's not fair! How come when I want the Diamond thingy to work, it doesn't but it magically works with Uncle!

"Jade, this has nothing to do with age. It seems like the Diamond has a mind of its own. Or maybe because Uncle was the one who removed the dark chi spell from the jewel. Over time, it should warm up to everyone," Jackie shook his head. What Jade was saying couldn't be true.

"I hope it does," Jade crossed her arms and made a small pouty face. The expression instantly disappeared and was replaced with worry. She turned to her uncle. "You said this gem possess good chi now, right?"

Uncle and Tohru nodded their head to the same rhythm. "Yes."

"Okay, then how is Delya going to be able to use the gem if she has dark magic in her? If she tries to touch the Diamond, she'll be fried with good chi," the Chinese girl pointed out. Tohru almost choked on his own spit thinking about Jade's question. Uncle could only scratch his head in bewilderment.

"That answer seems like a questions to save for the books. Tohru, Jackie, Jade: research time!" Uncle claimed. Everyone groaned and gave Jade a frustrated look.

The Chinese teen sheepishly shrugged at everyone. "Looks like we have a job to do...in the books."

* * *

"Can you stop moving and let me feel your arm? You're being fidgety," Delya whined. Drago and the demon dame were both on the couch watching some commercials. Correction; Drago was the one trying the watch while the girl was busy poking and rubbing his arm.

"I'm the one being ridiculous?" the son of Shendu pointed a thumb to himself. "**You're** the one touching me like a caterpillar all over their dinner! You keep pinching my arm and it's starting to hurt. I'm surprised you didn't bruise it."

"Oh my god, you're sucha baby!" Delya giggled.

Drago shrugged off his housemate's arms and lightly pushed her away from him. He felt himself getting hotter in the face. "Quit it, Dimples! You're getting me hot."

Delya scooted back to Drago and began to excessively touch his hair. "Ya know, we should go shopping for new clothes for you sometime. You can't just keep on wearing the same clothes everyday."

"I think-**OW**!-I'll manage. Can you please stop touching me?" the young man growled.

"Nuh uh! So you're telling me that you're going to walk around my house looking and smelling like a hobo? No way! When we get to the mall, you're going to get your own deodorant, wash sponge, bath soap, new clothes, new shoes. Basically the whole package plus some shipping fees," Delya giggled.

"Okay, get off me. You're starting to be really annoying now," Drago tried not to vent out his anger.

"Since when?"

The son of Shendu slapped his forehead and gripped his hands, trying very hard not to go off. "Since ten minutes ago! Ever since then, you've been acting like a little girl. No, in fact you've been acting like the girls on the street that I passed trying to get here. Do you know how many of them stared at me?"

The demon dame was hardly paying attention to her guest's short speech until he said 'girls on the street staring. "Sooooo technically you're saying that single women just walkin' around on the street just stared at you? What is a love-crush stare or-?"

"The love-crush one."

Delya laughed almost in a drunken way and playfully nudged Drago in his shoulders. "Seems like you're popular with the single ones, hunh?"

"You know what? Now I'm mad at myself for trying to help you," the son of Shendu growled as he began to storm out of the living room.

The demon dame jumped in front of him, acting like a barrier. "Aw, take a chill pill! I was just joking. Besides, I want to ask a some more questions!"

"And what? Embarrass me **some more** in the process? No thanks," the son of Shendu scowled as he pushed Delya to the side.

"No, no," Delya quickly changed her tone. Of course she was still feeling sickly, but she had to stow that away for now. "I mean, I wanted to ask you why you came back. You know, after what happened a few months ago, I thought the last person you wanted to see _was me_. How did you escape from the Demon Netherworld?"

The question jolted Drago a bit. Drago couldn't look at his friend, half because he was deep in thought and half because he couldn't look at her. He headed back to the kitchen and sat down in one of the tall chairs. Delya reluctantly followed him, waiting for his answer.

"Take a seat," the demon dragon softly ordered, as he pointed to the seat in front of him. Delya sat down, half-expecting Drago to start yelling.

Drago sharply inhaled. He put his hands over his face saying, "Do you _really_ want to hear the whole story?"

Delya made a lazy shrug. "I mean, I have a full day with nothing planned. You better spill the beans before it gets spilled for you."

"I was about to be finished in the Netherworld when I saw swirling portal and I was pulled out of it. I can't really remember everything but what stuck out the most was when I was trapped in this—this room. On the free side, a chi wizard was standing there talking to me," The demon dragon massaged his forehead. He was desperately trying to remember what had happened.

Delya cocked her head towards one side. "A chi wizard?"

"A dark chi wizard at that. His name was Tân and—."

"Did you know him?" The demon dame interrupted.

"We had just met each other. Anyway, he cut to the chase and made a deal with me saying that if I work for them and became their 'war machine', then I would be rewarded for it, said I could get anything I wanted in the world. Tân was a shady character, so I declined. As punishment, I was still trapped. Later, he came with my breakfast and asked if I could join him and his business partner he was talking about."

"A business partner huh?" the young woman nodded.

"Another shady character. I declined again and told him that I wasn't about to be bossed around by two humans. He attacked me but I ended up beating him up. It was pretty easy, considering the man being so old. I escaped the cell and ran out through the air vents. While I was up there, some security guards carried Tân to his business partner, whose name was 'Mr. Kim'. For some reason, to me it had sounded like Kim was a sadistic person. Sadistic in ways that my pops and fellow relatives could never reach."

"So you barely escaped with the skin of your teeth and you stole clothes from malls. You even turned human just to hide from the chi wizard and 'Mr. Kim'. That's either desperation, fear or a combination of both," the words drifted out from Delya's mouth. She immediately caught herself, as she covered her mouth with both hands seeing the glare from Drago.

"It's neither!" the man slammed his hands on the kitchen table. "I thought I said no more joking around!"

"I **wasn't** joking. Yesterday, I saw Tân. He was looking for some gems. The first time we saw him, he gave us the White Diamond trouble free because apparently, he was caught off guard when he found Uncle. They must've known each other somehow," the demon dame stared at the clean floor.

"Tân was looking for the 9 Gemstones of Samuel Long the Irish?" Drago's eyes widened.

"Yeah...how'd you know?" As soon as Delya asked that, she felt a chill run up and down her back. She hugged herself tightly, trying to preserve her warmth.

"Well, what's wrong now?" he asked.

"This place suddenly turned into an iceberg! I'm freezing. I'm going to go crash in bed," the demon dame shuddered.

"Don't worry Dimples; the side effects of the antidote will go away soon. You're just going to have to wait a few hours," Drago said, patting his housemate's head. Delya scoffed.

"When you gave me that horrible antidote, you never said anything about side effects. You're such a cheater, you know that?"

Drago made a genuine laugh and rubbed Delya's brittle hair. "And you're hilarious. Staying at your house might not be as bad as I thought."

"You're going to think wrong if you try and take all my food, got it buster?"


	13. Chapter 13

"How is the tracking spell for the next gem coming along?" Kimikaz bellowed as he stepped in Tân's room. The room was dark and empty, except for the two human beings in the room. The wizard sat on a small mat meditating and did not answer. He was mumbling instead. Apparently the mumbling was louder than Kimikaz's voice.

"I hate when he does this...," the consecutive rubbed the area in-between his eyebrows. It was amazing how so many people knew how to tick him off just by acting like they weren't listening to him. Tân was always the first on his list to do so.

"Tân, are you awake or asleep?" the businessman sighed.

"You got the girl with the hemlock, right?" the dark wizard made a tired reply. Tân liked the quiet in his room whenever Kimikaz wasn't around. He halfway opened his left eye to his partner.

"Of course I did. It was easy since that Delya wasn't even paying attention. Drunk the whole thing in a gulp," the businessman boasted. "It's weird, though. Delya and Eline has very similar features. It's almost as if...as if Delya was Eline's daughter. Their faces, their hair, personality, everything about both the woman are alike. But it doesn't matter now; Delya is dead already and out of my way, just like Evangeline. Not only that, it seems like Delya's hiding some very important information from us."

"Hmm?"

"Delya and I had a little chat while we had coffee. It got to a point where I accidentally frustrated her and she said "Drago's just a friend". Drago had left his prison cell not too long ago and I know there is no other like him in San Fran," Kimikaz stroked his beard. This was news to Tân, for the elder opened his eyes, He faced his partner.

"Delya had for sure said Drago?" he asked.

"I know it. Based on how Delya spoke about him, it seemed as the dragon and Delya have had previous ties. I wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but if I did, I could've blown my cover. My questions had made her quite moody."

Tân stroked his beard, thinking of what to do. "Mysterious. A demon and a human living together. Demons aren't fond of humans and he seems like he would be one of the many. What would Drago want with Delya?" Tân stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. "Is she involved in the world of chi wizardry?"

"She seems oblivious. I doubt she's seen what her aunt can do, let alone know her whole situation. Delya is more of a punch-first, ask-questions-later kind of girl," said Kimikaz. He had taken a lot of notes from interacting with the young woman.

"Very well then. She doesn't matter anymore. As for your question about the next gem, the Green Emerald has revealed itself in Muzo, Columbia.  
It would make sense for the city is very famous for the emeralds they have," Tân said.

Kimikaz nodded his head in a pondering way. "Now that two big obstacles are out of the way, we have to start looking for Drago immediately. You told me he was weak during his escape attempt because he didn't eat and because of his injuries. Without Delya, it'll only be a matter of time until that gecko boy starts slipping up in public. While you're in Columbia, I'll send some agents out to find him. This time, I don't want some old "friend" of yours and his kooky family getting in your way. Either put them aside or take them down."

Tân chuckled in a dark manner as Kimikaz left his room. His magic cane was glowing green right by his side. The top was so bright one could've mistaken it for the Green Emerald.

"I intend to."

* * *

"We can put the White Diamond in room 3D. This room will be used for keeping the gems safe," Captain Black explained to Jackie as the door to the vault opened. It looked the same as the vault to the old Section 13. In the middle of the room was nine pedestals with small colored pillows on top. The pillows were cut out with the shape of perfect cut diamonds. All the pedestals were surrounded by glass barriers.

"I can see it's very safe," Jackie looked inside the vault with astonishment. Jade was by his side, speechless for once.

"Correct. We put a lot of security in so I doubt even Jade could try to get through," the bald man smirked at the girl. Usually Jade would be a little mad at the statement but instead she was ecstatic.

"Cool!" the Chinese teen's voice echoed. She pointed to the pedestals. "Look! You even made a little perfect shape for the diamonds to fit into. You've stepped up a lot, Black."

Captain Black nodded towards his niece and continued to talk. "Now that we're passing out codes for the Section 13 gateway you're going to have to use those codes to get in here, let alone anywhere else with a keypad in the place. I've noticed that throughout the years, we've had..._non human things_...break in through security, so this is the new solution."

"So what's **my** code? I am a member of Section 13 now, right?" Jade looked up at Captain Black with the eagerness of a 5 year-old. Augustus and Jackie looked down at Jade with their usual disdained face.

"Jade...you may be a member, but that doesn't mean you get the same rights as a full agent. You are still too young. Maybe if you were a year older, then you can start training to be an agent but now isn't the time," the Chinese archaeologist got one knee to talk to his niece. He noticed how his niece's expression went from excited to shock.

"But—b-but you said it was okay. I mean, if I asked the J-Team and everybody..." Jade's voice was cracking and her eyes beginning to glow a little red.

Jackie gulped, knowing where this is heading. "I know what I said a few months back, but then is different from now. Now, I want you to be mature enough-."

"It's not fair! _I'm _always_ too young_! I never get to do anything fun with you guys!" The Chinese teen stomped her foot in frustration.

"That's not true..."

"**Yes it is**! You always say 'Jade, too dangerous' or 'Jade, not for kids' or 'Jade, this is for grown ups. Go play with Paco'! You don't get that I'm not a kid anymore! I'm a teenager of 14 years! The big 1-4! I can't go and play with my friends without you supervising me and looking like a stalker. I can't even take a simple nap without your nosiness! It doesn't even seem right to be a Section 13 agent since you're always taking away my rights! You treat me like a baby and _**I'm sick of it**_!" Jade raved. All the anger of over the years had spilled out. All those times Jackie robbed her of her happiness, she didn't want to say anything. Now Jade had decided that this summer was going to be the best of her life and she wasn't going to let her pesky uncle get in the way.

"Jade, you always follow me wherever I go so you know that's not true. Even if it is true, the things you've done from time to time make me worry about what's going to become of you. Always sneaking out when I tell you to stay behind or doing something to get yourself in trouble. One day you might ride a bike to the park and by chance, a demon or one of our past foes might come up and kill you and I won't be there. You'll be defenseless. What will you want me to tell your parents about you when they call?" Jackie turned his hand into a phone and put his ear on it as an act. "'Hello cousin Chen and Yu. I'm sorry to tell you that your daughter got killed by a rogue demon in the park today and I wasn't there to watch her. Sorry about that. Hope we're still chummy.' I'll be ruled as a bad guardian and never trusted again!"

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't give me space! That's something Uncle, Tohru and Captain Black can do! You just can't let go of the fact that I've changed and I'm older than I was when I first came here!"

"Whoa nelly, Jade," Captain Black, who stayed quiet the whole time, finally chimed in. "Let's calm down and talk about this in a mature manner instead of getting hostile."

"That's because I didn't know you at that time! I didn't even know I **had** a niece! **You're. Still. A. Kid. **_My kid_! You're my _only_ niece that I know of and heaven knows if I have any more kid relatives, you might influence them to turn out just like you!" came Jackie's reason.

"I'm the unique and cunning one, duh! I didn't want to stay in boring ol' Hong Kong where I'm restricted by my parents. I want freedom—I **need **freedom!" Jade huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. She stayed quiet for a while before talking again. "Maybe the reason why I'm not doing so well is because of you. Maybe you're a bad uncle."

"Me? I'm a bad teacher? Well then, maybe you're a bad niece," Jackie pointed at Jade.

Captain Black cleared his throat and straightened his jacket. At first, he had wanted to leave but now he wanted to change his position to peacemaker. It was usually a job reserved for Jackie. "If I may—."

"_**NO**_!" the niece and uncle screeched.

"Ok, then on next journey we go on, you can come free of charge! But if you get in trouble, don't ask me for help because you need all the space you can get," Jackie followed his niece's lead by crossing his arms over his chest. He wished Uncle was there to sort this out so the argument wouldn't turn into a big deal. Jade gasped, then pouted at Jackie.

"I'll just take care of myself because I don't need help!" Jade screamed as she stormed off. The grown ups could only look at Jade thundering down the hallway. She bumped into the agent Carlos while he was getting his coffee, spilling the whole thing on his suit.

"Yowch that coffee was hot!" Carlos could be heard screaming. Captain Black turned to Jackie, who was slightly red from his yelling.

"Are you alright? Do you need a fresh cup of coffee or—," the bald man placed a hand on the Chinese archaeologist's shoulder.

"Save it. I'm going to go get some fresh air now," Jackie shook his head and turned to leave, only to find Uncle and towering Tohru standing behind him.

Jackie hit his chest his chest multiple times to make sure his heart was still breathing. "BWAH! Uncle, don't do that! You know I don't like when people sneak up on me!" For that, Jackie received a hit on the head.

"Uncle didn't want to interrupt argument between you and Jade. And she is right; you are a bad uncle," Uncle chimed.

Jackie rubbed the area of his head and inhaled. "So what's the next gem and where are we going to?"

"Uncle getting to that! Thanks to red beets and mint leaves, we are traveling to somewhere in Columbia to search for the Green Emerald."

"Green? I thought the colors would be going in order," the Chinese archaeologist rubbed the back of his neck.

"Color of the gemstones not important! Now get packing or Tân and his forces will get the gemstone before us," Uncle said before walking away to his room.

"Jade and you had an argument?" Tohru stayed to ask Jackie.

"Yes," he looked away. It seemed downright embarrassing for Tohru to look down on him, even if it wasn't in shame.

"Yeah, it was pretty big," the Asian male frowned. "Tell me Tohru; am I overprotective?"

Tohru smoothed over his black hair and gulped. He didn't like to take sides in arguments. "Everyone's parenting is different, Jackie. Sometimes your actions are for the good of Jade and sometimes, your actions are a little too much. I guess I'd say if you weren't who you are now, I'm pretty sure Jade would've gone down the wrong road."

Jackie made a smile full of malicious pride. "See? I know what I'm doing! I'm not an overprotective guardian," the archaeologist walked off to his room. This left Tohru and Captain Black to exchange looks are each other.

"That's not what I meant," the Japanese sumo tried to speak up. Augustus placed a hand on his friend and shook his head.

"I don't think you should tell Jackie now. He's not very good at listening."

* * *

_"Hey Aunti, watcha doin'?" Delya asked. She was watching Aunti plant in some vegetables in the backyard. It was a hot summer day. The young woman was in a baggy shirt with knee-high jeans and sneakers. Aunti wore a long yellow sundress with a worn-out straw hat._

_"I am planting in tomatoes. Would you like to help me?" Aunti smiled from ear to ear. Delya shook her head._

_"No thanks. I just came outside to ask you something."_

_Aunti continued to put the tomato seeds in the ground and covered it over with dirt. She looked up at her niece. "Ask away."_

_Delya paused before asking her question. "So what's it like living by yourself?"_

_"It depends. Sometimes it's nice to have peace and quiet,.Other times listening to my own peace and quiet becomes maddening. I don't have anyone to socialize with," the elder woman described. She loved having conversations with others. She could be quite the talkative character at times._

_Delya stood around in an awkward manner, staring at her feet. "But why'd you take _me_ in? I'm a demon. I'm destructive and human-hating and...and..._evil_. Letting a demon inside your house is like a death wish, isn't it?"_

_"Oh whoa!" Aunti laughed. Delya put on her serious face, but secretly loved the sound of Aunti's merry laugh._

_"Oy! You're so funny! What's wrong—not feeling all that comfortable here?" Delya shook her head in a bashful manner._

_"If you really wanted to know, I chose you because you may be a demon, but I know you are a good person. Now if you were some kind of hideous, brain eating monster from the twelfth nebula, that would be a whole 'nother story. You may have not believed in yourself when you first stepped foot in my possession, but I did. When I look at you, I don't look at you as demon; I see you as family. Are you finally coming around to me?" Aunti took off her hat._

_"Yeah. You're a cool person, even if you are a human," Delya nodded._

_"I know you're a demon and those other demons expect you to kill or try and take over the world. Remember, you told me you felt quite uncomfortable doing so," came Aunt Eva's reminder._

_"Well yeah. I just wanted to let you know so that you wouldn't be prejudice about me or treat me as if I'm different. I know what I look like on the outside and I know what I am on the inside," the demon/human girl said as she pointed to herself._

_"I know. Still, there are those who expect you to be who or what they want. Sometime they don't care about you at all. If I'm ever not around and you ever feel uncomfortable when asked to do something, don't do it. Chances are that the request might be a mistake that can hurt you in the long run. I had to learn that the hard way..." Aunti said with a hint of depression in her voice. She went back to planting in her tomatoes._

_To Delya the conversation was beginning to get interesting, for she took a seat criss-cross in the fresh grass. She almost looked like a kindergartner waiting for story-time. "What do you mean? What did that person want you to do? Was it about me?"_

_"No. The man didn't even know you had existed and I doubt he does now. It was nothing really. All he wanted was..." as Aunti continued to talk, her voice sounded like something was stuffed in her mouth._

_"Say what?" the demon dame cupped her ear to her aunt more clearly._

_Aunti turned around and brought a phone from under her hat. "The phone is for you."_

"De, stop sleeping and pick up the phone already. Chan is calling," Drago groaned, shaking the house phone in her face and pushing her around in bed. Delya jerked awake, She lazily took the phone from his hand and pressed 'Call'.

_Damn it. I couldn't hear what Aunti was_ saying, Delya grumbled."Hello?"

"Oh, I thought you weren't going to pick up," the only humble and shallow voice on the other end belonged to Jackie. "You sound as if you were taking a nap."

"Well maybe I was trying to."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just tell me what you called for before I fall asleep on you," Delya wiped her eyes.

"Okay, okay. Uncle Jiang has just revealed that the Green Emerald has revealed itself in a city called Muzo, located in Columbia."

"Green? But I thought the next color after white was going to be red, right?"

Jackie pinched the bridge of his nose. "According to Uncle, the color of the gems don't matter. Anway, you might wanna get here fast."

Delya half rolled over and made a small chuckle. "You're expecting me to start rushing myself? Funny story, Jackie. Funny story."

"Just don't. You have plenty of time to get here before we take off," Jackie replied. His innocent voice turned dark as he hung up. Delya threw it on her bed.

"How long were you trying to wake me up?" she turned to Drago. He had sat down on the end of Delya's bed listening to the small conversation.

"About ten minutes. I almost didn't catch the phone because I was outside looking at your garden. I didn't know you had a garden," Drago commented.

Delya slowly shook her head, half from the sleepiness and half from the sadness. "No, it was Aunti's garden. She has a green thumb. She could grow almost anything and make it look good. Aunti could put a dollar in the ground and you get bundles of money falling to the ground. If she put a small candy in the ground, Aunt Eva could grow it and use the candy for herself. It was pretty extraordinary..."

"I see," Drago scratched his partly spiked hair. "Can you do the same?"

"No. I mean, I'm not necessarily that bad, but I'm not that good either. Not like Aunt Eva..." Delya shoved her head into her pillow.

"So you're looking for the Green Emerald this time?"

"Yeah," came a muffled Delya. "I don't want to go to Section 13 honestly."

Drago took in a deep breath and let in out in a silent sigh. "No one's saying you have to."

The demon dame ducked under her pillow and continued her complaining. "But I do. If I don't go with Jackie and them, they will lose the gemstones to Tân and his merry helpers and it's gonna be my fault. My muscles feel stiff as a board and my throat feels like someone took it and stuck it in a shredder. What if someone discovers my sickness?"

Drago could only shrug. "Jeez, I dunno. Blame it on Chan. You said he was sick, remember? Just stop with the excuses and go and get that Emerald already before Tân gets them."

"What did he do to you that you dislike him so much?" Delya cocked her head to one side.

The son of Shendu shook his head. "It wasn't what did did to me; it was how he treated me."

"I just said that."

"The bastard treated me like I was nothing. I don't know why I didn't burn him alive when we fought because that idea is sticking in my head now like never before. Besides, you can't just lie around all day in the house. That's **my** job."

"That's because you're my guest, genius," the demon dame said as she flipped her hair. She made a fake glare at Drago. "You're not really good at being influential, you know that?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at Section 13 already, Dimples?

Delya rubbed her eyes and sat up and made a groggy sigh. "Don't call me that. If you really feel that way about lying around the house, then you have to come with me to the mall so we can get you some new things if you really want to "be lazy around the house"."

Now it was Drago's turn to start his complaining. "Aw man. Do I have to?"

"I mean, if you want Tân and his soldiers to get you..." the demon dame answered with a nod.

"Okay okay. Whatever. Sheesh, you just love to blackmail, don't you?"

"When you're the blackmailing victim."

**A/N: And that's the end. Chapter updated a little after a week, but other than that, it seems like I had almost no trouble with this chapter and I was almost right on time.**

**Anyway, some guest villains are now in the story, but it should only be part time for them. Personally, I think the story will get more interesting that way. If you think you know who it is, shout it out to me in the reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Jackie, I'm not sure if this is a good idea," Captain Black warned. He was on speakerphone talking to his friend while Jackie was on the computer, looking up mines in Muzo, Columbia.

"I'm not really sure if going on a trip with Jade while you're mad at her will help the current situation between the two of you. You should've let someone stay here and—"

"How's _that_ going to make it any better? She's always complaining about how she never has a chance to do anything. Jade's always finding some weird loophole to everything I say. Sometimes she just pops in and doesn't even care. Captain Black, you don't know how many times I'm tired of repeating the same things over and over again. Maybe I am a bad uncle. Maybe I should've sent Jade back to China," Jackie huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He thought back to the fight and could only cringe remembering the hurtful things that had been said.

"I understand but don't you think you need to calm down some?" the captain of Section 13 tried to reason. He was no stranger to arguments such as these and he knew that arguments can lead to serious trouble if taken too far.

"When Jade realizes that listening is more important than constantly following me and putting her life in danger, then I'll calm down. C'mon Black, you'd understand. Don't you think Jade is even a little rowdy?" the Chinese archaraologist explained.

"Jade may be a little rowdy, but becoming hostile and calling youself a 'bad uncle' and letting Jade call you that most definitely would cross the line. A lot of the Section 13 agents told me about Jade in the aftermath of the argument and she was pretty steamed. That tells me this has gone way too far."

Jackie took in several breaths in and out in a slow manner. "Then what do you want me to do? I can't just sit around and do nothing. When Jade talked about no needing my help, I could tell she was serious and so was I."

"Did you ever think about what would happen if what if Jade gets cornered by Tân or some other villain?" challeneged Black. Jackie bit his lip.

"She has Tohru, Uncle and Delya to call whenever she's in trouble. I do not want to break a sweat saving my niece."

"I remember now. I need to go and check out some information about Tân. I'm pretty sure I've seen him in the media a few times before. What did Tân look like?"

How quickly Jackie's anger withered away almost made Jackie look and seem like a humble man. "He looks almost like Daolon Wong, but he's taller and is Vietnamese. He's bald on top and has a grey haired ponytail. Tân wears a lot of white but he has a red tie. He has an eerie and kinda murderous look."

"By the way, how are you feeling?"

"Jackie is feeling better thanks to my remedy!" Uncle claimed as he took a pompous step forward to his nephew, followed by his former apprentice Tohru. "See? Jackie was smart for once when he drank all of my vegetable juice! You drank everything, right?"

The Chinese archaeologist almost jumped a mile in his seat. "Um, yes Uncle! I...I had every last drop of it. It was er, delicious!"

"That is exactly why you should start listening to your Uncle! He has helpful remedies!" Uncle remarked.

Tohru got up and whispered in Jackie's ear, "You were lying when you said you drank the tomato juice and when you said it was delicious, weren't you?"

"Hunh? How did you know?"

Tohru shook his his in a pitiful manner and shrugged as he moved back beside Uncle. "You're not very good at lying."

A few rows behind the archaeologist and the chi wizards, Delya was trying to mind her own business and stare at the window. She has noticed that whenever Jackie mentioned Jade's name, she seemed to be sending mental daggers to the back of her uncle's head.

_Whatever you do, don't take any foods that are green. If you do, it might jeopardize the hemlock still in your body."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Once the hemlock is taken in the body, it only takes a few hours for humans to die. For demons, hemlock's a pretty weak poison. The plant will come out the other way of your body."_

_"How long will it take?"_

_Drago cupped his chin and started playing with his small black goatee. It was becoming a habit every time Drago had to think. "Like I said, it depends on what you eat, but it _should_ come out it a couple of hours."_

_"It 'should'?"_

_"You shouldn't be able to eat anything like herbs or greens or any of that stuff. Just drink plenty of water because it will help the hemlock run out faster," from the refrigerator, Drago picked out a cold water bottle and tossed it in Delya's direction._

_"Catch."_

_"Whoa!"_

_"Water. No green stuff. The longer the poison remains in your body, the more pain you'll eventually get when you end up with paralysis."_

_"I'm going to be paralyzed?!"_

_The demon dragon made a long and exaggerated sigh, then said,"That's why humans stay hydrated. The concept works with demons too," Drago scuffled her hair. "You don't listen. Oh, and you're going to need some caffeine." Drago planted a Coca Cola drink in Delya's hands. "This is so you stay awake to remember to drink water."_

Delya tapped on her young friend's shoulder "Hey Jade." The niece was too busy playing on her electronics to listen.

"Jade. Jade? Hey," the demon dame waved her hand in front of the teenager's face.

"What?"

"Okay okay. I'm sorry."

The Chinese teen sighed and stuffed her game in her pocket. "Sorry Delya. I'm just having a rough time now."

"Rough time with what?"

"You mean with who and his name is Jackie. He doesn't seem to understand me at all. Like today, Captain Black and Jackie were talking and I asked them if I would get my own number to plug in so I can get into Section 13. Jackie said no because I'm too young. That's _total bull_ because a few months ago, Jackie said it was okay for me to be an agent. When something good happens, something twice as bad follows. It seems like a bunch of prejudice to me. You've been a Section 13 agent ever since the Drago-taking-over-the-world thing and it's only been a 3 months! I've known Section 13 **for years** now and I _still_ get no recognition."

"So because of what you're saying, you and Jackie had this big argument?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not going to talk to him?"

"Yeah.

"And he's not going to talk to you?"

"Yeah. Plus, he said that if I get in any trouble with Tân or anything, I can't ask for his help because he refuses to waste his time with me."

Delya bit her lip. "That's hurtful."

"You don't underestimate me, Tohru doesn't, Captain Black and even Uncle understand me—in his own way. Jackie still views me as a kid. Is that weird?"

"Not really. You're lucky. I didn't really have anyone to scold me like that besides Aunti. How long is this big feud going to last?"

Jade crossed her arms in front of her chest. "As long as I feel like it. Even if I tried to talk to Jackie, he wouldn't want to talk to me back so we're going to keep it like this. By the way, why is your hair fully black? Isn't there supposed to be some purple in it? And your eyes..."

Delya self-consciously grabbed her hair and covered her eyes. "Yeah...uh...Jackie's sickness must've passed onto me. Yup! Usually when I get sick, the color in my hair blends in with the others and my eye color goes wacky. That's how it is when I'm sick."

Jade (heavily falling for the big lie) began to touch it. "It's kinda pretty but it's still dry. Anyway, while we're in Muzo, can I stay with you? Like a buddy system or something?"

"You know I will," the demon dame began to think of another conversation to start up. "Earlier today, I got to meet with Kimikaz."

"The single business guy? **You** did?" Jade's mouth dropped. "Wait, he's in San Francisco? Tell me everything that happened."

"I was walking and happened to encounter Kimikaz on the street going home. He treated me to coffee in that popular store called Brew-Ha-Ha."

"Brew-Ha-Ha? The best coffee shop in town?" Jade's kid eyes grew to be as big as moons. "Everyone's been there." When Jade was still in school, she heard many of her classmates had gone their at least once to experience their tongue in such delights. Hearing that after an extended period of time made Jade greatly envious.

"Well, he took me inside and bought my coffee and drank together. We chatted about recent things and stuff. It was a small chat because he had to go to work," Delya's eyes settled upon her knees. Thinking about Drago at the time had made the recent memory bittersweet.

"Kimikaz knows mixed martial arts? Like kickboxing and stuff?!" Jade squealed.

"Yeah, something like that."'

"I wonder how good is he. What if he and Jackie had a battle. I wonder who would win...," Jade trailed off in thought. Though she was mad at her uncle, anger couldn't derail Jade when she says Jackie is good.

"Me too. That would be something to see, wouldn't it?" Delya said as she reclined in her seat. She lazily crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "That's something to see..."

As Delya drifted off to the land of dreams, Jade partially unzipped her bag and reached inside. She looked at Delya to make sure she was asleep before pulling out the White Diamond.

"This thing sure is something to see too, isn't it?"

* * *

"*Iwan sama espiritu ngayon," Lola softly chanted. On one hand, her magical drumstick was doing all of the good chi work while the other hand held the pink petals of an azalea flower, helping the chi flow. Kimikaz and the Filipina teen were in the solitary part of Hollowlands Penitentiary, where no guards were around. She was leading the way with quiet Kimikaz behind her.

"I am surprised you've managed to keep quiet on the way here. While that may be good, I am not sure what we're doing in a prison like this," Lola muttered. She wanted her statement to be loud enough to be heard and at the same time soft enough to not be heard. Kimikaz heard and didn't look at her; he instead looked at the time on his Rolex watch and looked ahead.

"That's because not everything I do must be justified by you. All you will know for now is that I have big plans that might change things at ZIK. A small mind such as yours couldn't comprehend what I'm thinking," came Kimikaz's comment. He'd rather save himself the trouble of worrying his employee.

"Well, this 'small brain' of mine understands perfectly what we're doing, and I know that it's 100% wrong. I'd rather spend my time doing more useful things like finishing a certain project of mine..." Lola fiddled with the bottom of her shirt.

"Forget your little project. This is soon going to be the newest thing in the city!" her boss hissed.

"You tell me what's more important than strong spells to track down the gemstones? My project was what you wanted, isn't it? I mean, you were complaining about this for awhile now," the girl argued. She could feel her blood begin to boil talking to her employer.

"Don't you dare get snappy with me, woman!" Kimikaz growled with a balled fist raised for Lola to see. "I've already had enough lip from Jun. If he was here and had joined in, I don't know what I would do to that boy..."

Lola whipped her hair in a very sassy manner, almost hitting her boss. Her quick attitude surprised Kimikaz because he had known her to be the quiet, shy and obedient. "Can you not be rude? I bet you if the demon was here—." Lola was on the edge of making another quirky saying before Kimikaz lunged at Lola and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're hurting me!" the Filipina squealed.

"First, the last time I checked **I** am the boss here, not you. Second, when I ask to give 100% I expect 1000%. I brought you here for a reason and it wasn't to sit around and listen to your endless complaints and rudeness. I would've brought along Tân or Jun, but both of them are on a six hour trip to Columbia to get the Green Emerald. Need I remind you again, I am your boss and you are my employee. Get that in that head of yours," Kimikaz coolly let go and turned around to fix his tie. "When you asked to work for ZIK I thought it was for your father, but if it going to be like that.."

Lola opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it. "Well, I thought you were an okay guy when I first met you. Now I see that you aren't so nice. Super rich, but super mean."

The businessman turned around and looked at Lola with no visible expression. He burst into a fit of quiet chuckling. "I'm surprised you took the time to figure that out. I've been this way for years and nothing's going to and ever will change that. The world's slowest detectives could see who I am through a paper bag in the fog faster than you."

"And your point to your madness is...?" Lola placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm doing this for Samantha. I am doing this for the world."

"If you're doing this for 'Samantha' and the world, then why are we here? If Samantha were alive and here with us, she wouldn't approve. You need to stop using her as an excuse to do whatever you like. Imogene wouldn't approve of what you're doing either."

The businessman cringed hearing the second woman's name. He hadn't heard that name in a very long time. "Imogene is different than Samantha. **Waaay** different."

"Mm-hmm. Way different than Evangeline too, right?"

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing," Lola hopelessly sighed. "Iwan sama espiritu ngayon. Iwan sama espiritu ngayon."

The deeper and deeper the two adults wandered down the hallways of the penitentiary, the more lost they seemed. Through every left, right, up and down stairs and the circles they've gone through only made it worst.

"Can someone say something? Do some sign language, code or anything? How am I supposed to know where to go if you're the one following me? Don't you know this place better than me?" the Filipina vented. She was beginning to get antsy, Kimikaz noticed.

"Well then why don't you act like Sherlock Holmes and figure it out yourself because I am most definitely not telling you," Kimikaz didn't mind what Lola was saying. He wasn't responding to Lola's complaining and insults because he was reading a map of the Hollowlands Penitentiary. "I'm surprised you're worried about that when you should be worried about how guards are soon going to find us with your loud talking."

"That is the least of my worries," Lola huffed. "The green chi from my drumstick and my azalea petals hide us from sight."

The businessman folded up the map and put the paper in his back pocket. "Okay, that makes sense then because we're here." Lola looked up and found herself staring face to face with the many rows of jail cells neatly stacked on top of one another. Inside one of the small cells three young men angrily whispering away.

"This cell is lame as a mofo," one boy complained, leaning against the bars of the cell. Kimikaz and Lola could see the boy had blond and spiky hair with shaved eyebrows. His eyes were dark green and he was the shortest of the boy trio. Lola could see his face was decorated with red pimples like a pepperoni pizza.

"You can say that again. Everything about this whack ol' penitentiary is lame, yo," an older one added. His hair was dyed purple hair. His nose has a nose ring and his ears were pierced with two earrings. Next to the purple-haired boy was a tall, stocky boy with a headband across his forehead and an earring on both ears. He nodded.

"I kinda wish we didn't work for D-Man. I mean, he is the reason why we're stuck in this anyway," the purple haired boy sighed, sliding against the cell bars.

"Exactly. This is all his fault," the blond boy punched his fist into his open palm. "I wish we didn't get caught and Grandpa with his sumo servant didn't send D-Man and his pop back to demon prison. If all that didn't happen, we coulda got 'im."

"What about De-Girl? She's still out there with her Grandma."

"Right. Remember how hard she crushed on D-Man?" Pepperoni Boy chuckled at the good memories. "Every time they were beside each other, she would madly blush."

_Iwan sama espiritu ngayon_, Lola chanted as she quietly approached the complaining boys' cell. When Lola drifted behind Kimikaz, it left him visible with the wizard still hiding in her chi bubble. Once the boys faced the outside part of the cell, they pratically screamed.

"Yo! You needa chill! Coulda gave me a heart attack!" the blond one placed a hand to his chest.

"That's not important now. What is important is trying to help you get out of here," Kimikaz's face was covered with a mask for privacy. "While I was doing so, I couldn't help but overhead your conversation."

"Well naw dip," the purple-haired boy rolled his eyes. "What's sup with' da masks, yo?"

"Privacy purposes. All I wanted to know was who exactly were you referring to?" the Golden Rainbow CEO cleared his throat.

"Hunh?"

Kimikaz rubbed the area in-between his eyes and sighed. "'D-Man', 'De-Girl', 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma'? '_The sumo_'? You're telling me you don't remember saying this seconds ago?"

"Oh them," the blonde-haired boy rolled back his hair. "It's nothing. If we told you, you wouldn't believe our story. The judge didn't."

"And your point is...?" Lola spoke up. She stood behind Kimikaz and was getting tired of standing in jail overall.

"Our point, little lady, is that our story is cuh-razy. You sure you want to hear everything?" The purple headed boy followed in Lola's manner as he placed his hands on his hips.

"We're all ears but first, you might want to back away from the door. Iwan sama espiritu ngayon," the Filipina chanted quickly as her chi flew from her instrument. Its form was like a poisonous snake, silently cutting through the cell bars and acting like a sword cutting through paper. One by one, the metal fell to the floor.

"Yo, the chick is a chi wizard!" the purple-haired boy pointed to the chi wizard as he rushed outside his cell.

This confused the executive, who watched the talking ordeal. He cautiously pointed to the boy who was talking. "You know what chi wizards are?"

The short blond adolescent chuckled darkly as he kicked the metal bars out of his walking way. "Let's just say my boys have tangled with some magic before we got arrested some few months back."

"So you're a new recruit in Hollowlands Penitentiary," the businessman put this important information in his brain.

"Yeah. Say, you sound familiar. I don't know if I've heard of you before..." Before the blond could continue, the alarms on the walls flashed red and white with rackets sounding like screaming robots.

"Prisoner escape on level 5! Repeat: prisoner escape on level 5!" a woman's machine voice echoed and repeated. "Prisoner escape on level 5!"

"I betcha it's one of them new boys on level 5!" one guard was heard shouting.

"And Lola was one of the reasons why I brought her here. So she wouldn't make a mess," Kimikaz stated, giving his employee a disapproving look. Lola gave her boss a tired look and a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't see you with any better ideas, smart one."

"Aw man! This is the end for all of us! We'll never make it outta here alive without dem guards on our tails!" the purple haired adolescent squeaked.

An idea ran through Lola's head as she began to conjure her signature azalea petals in her right hand. "Yes we will. Everyone grab my left hand!" All of the men moved to her right hand which carried the drumstick and petals.

"**My** left hand," the woman grumbled. As the trio of teenagers scrambled for her hand, Lola was mumbling her spell while waving her chi instrument in the air.

"W-Where we goin'?" the blonde head demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"Iwan sama espiritu ngayon!" Just then, 5 guards on level 5 had just arrived in Cell #56. Before they could get in and see what was going on, a chi blast quickly enveloped the cell before blowing up. The only thing found remaining was pink flower petals scattered on the floor.

"They're gone!" a smaller guard (a rookie) exclaimed. "They've escaped!"

"We can see that Ronnie," a senior guard named Thorn rolled her eyes.

"But who did it? Who helped them?" Ronnie said while picking up the remains of flowers. "We didn't see anyone come in through the security cameras."

"This must've been planned by the three before they were arrested. At times, they all offered to stay together as a group, even though they were forbidden to. We need to tell the warden because he's going to be pretty mad," Thorn boomed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Well, yeah. This was one of the most securest prisons until some wise guys broke out a few years ago," Roonie could feel his stomach trembling. "Hopefully none of us lose our jobs over this."

* * *

"This is as lame as staying with Mr. Kim. If I could go back and have a choice—ow!" Tân swatted the back of Jun's head.

"You didn't have to hit me!" the adolescent cried.

"Because of your nonstop complaining ever since we have taken off, you deserved that," the Viet man yawned. "And since then, I haven't taken a wink of a nap. You can't keep your voice down?"

"How can I not when this tracking spell keeps blowing up in my face?" Jun grumbled. The spell he was making in his cauldron made a gas bubble, which exploded in his face. This was the tenth time it had happened on the trip. Every time it made it harder to Tân to relax.

"See?! I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure out what it is!" Jun scratched his ragged hair in frustration. Any minute further and he would've pulled his hair out.

"That's obviously the problem," the dark wizard commented. He slowly rose from her chair and made and grab for the bottom part of his cane. He dipped it in and spun around the dark blue liquid inside.

"Why is the spell a light spell? The tracking spell is supposed to be very heavy and sticky," The Viet took his cane out of the concoction and touched the ruby part on his cane. "This feels slippery and weak."

"So? What does it matter?" This was remarkably one of the dumbest questions ever asked by a chi wizard in Tân's book.

"You crouton, it does matter! Every single thing is important in a chi spell because if one ingredient is missing the whole thing goes flop!"

Jun shot up and looked the elder man straight in the eye. Obviously Tân was taller but the fire in then youth's eyes made him seem like a giant. "OK, all I asked was for advice. I didn't want your criticism, I could care less about this trip. I could care less about all this BS! Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you can try to make me seem less smarter than what I am."

"How can I not do that when your smarts don't aid you in real life? This simple spell is something you can't do but yet you're able to summon a demon from the depths of hell. Are you really telling me that such a simple spell like this is so hard?" was the smart comment from Tân's mouth. He would of said some more things but that would definitely have started a fight between the two dark wizards, but decided to bench them. "I'm surprised you are the only chi wizard in that rambunctious family of yours. If you were my son, I would definitely have raised you better."

Jun released a deep breath from his nostrils. He too was about to say something he might regret. He picked up his pot and carried it to the back ."You wouldn't get to raise me properly because if I was your son, I would kill myself," the angry teen hissed. "And don't talk about my family like that! You have no right to disrespect them!"

"What was that you wanted to tell me?"

The boy deeply exhaled and shook his head. "Nothing."

From Tân's pockets, he pulled out a vial of yellow-greenish liquid and held it up in the air. "A drop of chamomile tea should help your problem." The late teen looked up, almost in disbelief. His co-boss had never done anything nice to him directly. Tân turned around and shook the vial.

"Aren't you going to take the ingredient or what?"

The youth hesitantly took the glass from the dark wizard's hand. He put it close to his face, peering at it closely. Jun raised his eyebrow and gave his boss a suspicious look. "All I needed was some tea?

"Yes. Black tea leaves, to be exact."

The teenager bowed his head slowly and when he rose, his usually angry face was full of satisfaction and content. "T-T-Thank you, Sir Tân. I appreciate your help." The wizard didn't hear what the boy had said, for he was already comfortably asleep in his chair. Jun facepalmed and continued to toil away.

"This is my first trip going abroad and I still can't do anything right!"

* * *

Lola, Kimikaz and the three jail boys arrived in Kimikaz's office. Luckily, no one seemed to notice the boss and one of his top good chi wizards were missing from action. Once the flashes of green chi were gone and the flower petals falling to the ground, everyone was finally safe from any sign of security.

The blonde boy was the first to talk as he fell on his bottom. "What happened, yo?"

Lola was still busy chanting, making sure all of her flower petals would disappear. "Hold on a sec. Iwan sama espiritu ngayon." By then, her flower petals turned into green dust, which disappeared on the floor.

"Alright, talk to me." The purple-haired boy reached around the other side of Lola's shoulder, a flirtatious smile was in the works. "Our outbreak from jail is all thanks to Lil Mama here. She sure knows her magic."

The woman pushed her fellow youth off of her and made a glare. Lola could've sworn her looks could've put the boy six feet under already. "Please refrain from touching me."

Instead of fearing Lola he chuckled, playfully punching the girl in the arm. "Feisty. I like you already."

Now it was Kimikaz's turn to put his hand on his Lola's shoulder. "You should treat your co-workers with more respect."

Lola opened her mouth to start another rant but what Kimikaz said had shocked her. "Co-workers?! These people are going to be working with me?! Seriously?!"

Her boss ignored her. "What are your names?"

The blonde head and his purple-headed friend jumped in the way. "Don't worry sir, our boy DJ Fist here don't talk," the blonde pointed a finger to himself. "We tha Ice Crew. My name's StrikeMaster Ice and this here's MC Cobra."

Lola was very unimpressed as she placed her hands on her hips. "Let's see: DJ Fist, MC Cobra and StrikeMaster Ice. You don't have any appropriate names, like from birth?"

Ice put his finger up to the teens' lips. The girl smacked them off. "We don't use our real names, chicky. Now keep 'em lips quiet."

"Just because your names are..._different_ than the common person doesn't mean you can call me such a name like 'chicky'. That is rude," she whipped her hair in Ice's face.

"So then what is your name, chicky?" Ice stepped up to the girl's face. Kimikaz stepped in the way and made a slight but gentleman bow.

"Forgive her. She's been like this since...since I don't know when. She's Lola, one of my top good chi wizards. I would have you meet Jun and Tân, but they are on a trip to South America," Kimikaz took off his black mask and slightly bowed to stick out his hand. Loud gasps filled the room.

"My name is Kimikaz."

"Whoa! You Kimikaz? Kimikaz, the rich dude on TV with his own business and everythang? You tha one who broke us out of jail? That takes a lot of nerve for that," Ice commented, slapping his boss on the back.

Cobra scratched his hair while trying not to give Kimikaz a hazy and suspicious look. "Ice's right. On TV, you're the biggest goody-two-shoes out there. Why would you want to break out common teenage criminals like us? Not that it's a bad thing but..."

"The main reason why I called you here is because I need backup. Like personal bodyguards or henchmen. I am in need of some," the executive explained to the teens.

Ice clucked his tongue quickly and shook his head with a frown. "Unh uh. We don't like being called henchmen or personal bodyguards or any of that junk."

Lola laughed semi-maniacally, almost doubling over. "Why, because someone said you're like the dumb type of henchmen who don't know a thing about what you're supposed to do?"

"The last time we became henchmen, D-Man practically bound us to become his work force. All he had to do was give us a piece of his demon chi and the deal was done. It was almost like a prison camp with a demon in charge of it all."

Kimikaz cleared his throat and leaned forward. "You were forced to work for a _demon_?"

Lola chimed in. "And who's this D-Man you keep complaining about? Use proper names please."

Cobra cleared his throat. "His actual name was Drago but we called him D-Man. He didn't really care what we called him except for that one time where Drago got the Thunder chi and I called him dawg on accident because he thought I said dog like the animal. At the time, he kinda looked like a dog."

"You know Drago? This son of Shendu I think?" the good wizard demanded to know.

"You know it. It got to a point in time where the big and bad boss became a small and weak demon because this grandpa guy took his thang, you know, his chi. And then he got pretty mad after that. We tried to give that fool a taste of his own medicine. It worked for awhile until he came back and tried to kill us by stuffing us into the ground. Life sucked then because we barely got freedom," Ice nonchalantly shrugged. "When Drago finally got put down under, we tried to escape but we got captured by Chan and his clan."

_The grandpa guy must be Jiang, Tân's so-called friend._ "Chan? You mean **Jackie Chan**, the famous archaeologist? The one who captures criminals with his dangerous martial arts?" Kimikaz whispered as he felt the sweat gather at the base of his neck. He had heard many things about Jackie Chan. Some were good reviews but provided the bad crowd Kimikaz liked to hang around, a man like him would grow to fear the Asian archaeologist. Until that very moment, the CEO never knew anyone who has known the researcher directly.

"Well sure. To be honest, there were a number of criminals in the slammer because of him. He always thinks he's so great with his know-it-all martial arts and his little niece. They're always screwing up our fun. When we use our martial arts to best him, that little punk Jade is in the way and helps her stupid uncle. She's so annoying, like that one time she made fun of our hair the first time we met each other."

_They know martial arts. Interesting... _"I wonder why she would to that," Lola muttered. "And who's De-Girl?"

Cobra laughed. "De-Girl's actual name was Delya. She was with Drago and helped him try to take over the world. In return, she would become Drago's boo. While we searched for demon chi, she and Drago always had a thing going on, even though she was always trying to deny."

_I knew Delya was up to something when she mentioned Drago's name. I didn't know Delya had such a history with the demon boy_," the company's CEO put his hand to his chin. The only thing that came from Kimikaz's mouth was, "I see."

Cobra punched his fist into his open palm. "I kinda wish we could get **revenge** on D-Man and De-Girl."

"If you agree to work with the ZIK Incorporated, then we can give you that sweet taste of vengeance," Kimikaz held up a strong fist with a convincing tone. DJ had an unconvincing look on his face. When Ice looked at his taller friend, he soon wore the same expression.

"What do we get in return?" the blonde headed boy asked with a dangerous edge to his voice. From the drawers of Kimikaz's desk, the executive pulled out 3 bundles of cash and tossed it individually to the three young men.

"That's only the beginning." Lola could only roll his eyes as she watched Cobra, DJ and Ice go wild celebrating their win.

"Men..."

"We'll totally help you boss man! Up high!" Cobra put his hand in the air waiting for his new boss to receive to message. Kimikaz could only give them an amused look.

"I don't do high-fives."

Cobra immediately recoiled from his boss and held up his hands. "Oh. Sorry."

"So our first job..." Ice trailed off, having a wicked smile on his face.

"...Isn't until Chan and his gang of merry folk get back from their trip," the executive interjected. He wasn't ready to send the teens into the field just yet. "When they return, I have a special job for all of you."

Lola looked unsure of what her boss meant but the Ice Crew all had mischievous smiles on their faces. The youth chi wizard weakly spoke up. "What is it exactly that we will do?"

"I'll let you know when the opportunity knocks. Meanwhile, you will be the leader in this small group helping them. Give them their food, shelter; make them feel at home. You _will_ do that for me, won't you?" the once innocent and good sound of the billionaire's voice sounded like heaven to Lola's ears. While it sounded good to hear Kimikaz sounding like the good person Lola first saw him to be, the Filipina girl knew this was all a lie. Just a trick. His voice technically kidnapped her from her home island.

_Say no! Say no! Say no! You know his trickster ways. He's not to be trusted! Just say no!_ the thoughts were running around in her mind as fast as lightning. Her stomach felt like it was being tied in a knot with butterflies roaming free inside her.

"Of course. Anything for the newcomers," she made a polite bow before mentally kicking herself. _Why didn't I listen to myself? What's wrong with me? Am I a chicken on Earth or what? _More of her self-scolding wrapped around her mind as she shooed the Ice Crew out of Kimikaz's office.

"So where are we going first?" MC Cobra's wrapped his right arm around her back. This time she couldn't fight off his half embrace.

"We're going to the training room downstairs, where you can practice your fighting skills if we're going to be facing this Chan guy. Every since you've gone to prison, you must've lost some of your fighting abilities. But don't worry; the ZIK Incorporated has your backs..."

**A/N: * = 'Let the evil spirits leave' in Filipino.**

**Whaddya know? The infamous Ice Crew has returned from jail! If you guessed them, then you're right! Congratulations! Writing their characters is hard and kinda fun at the same time. But now that there's the juvenile gang is back, you can only wonder how much trouble they'll pose to our heroes...**


	15. Chapter 15

"Why do I feel like something is missing?" Captain Black muttered. It was a few hours after he called Jackie on his jet to Columbia and already the captain of Section 13 knew something was amiss. He couldn't exactly point it out with his finger, but it was a feeling he couldn't shake off.

"Maybe I need to check on my agents to see how they're doing with the reports of Tân again," he took his favorite cup of coffee and headed out of his office. His underground headquarters was quiet whenever Jackie and his crazy family wasn't around. The quietness reminded Black of the Section 13 before he recruited Jackie. Augustus walked down the stairs to check on the bustling agents below.

"Captain Black, we've gotten little history from Tân," a female agent named Carrey reported, giving him a folder with a multitude of papers inside. He set down his coffee on a nearby table and opened the folder.

"Oh?

"Yes. According to his files, the man didn't start his crimes until after he traveled from his homeland in his early 20s. Tân has been involved in multiple robberies. But it's quite weird. He only robbed herbal medicinal stores and farms. He has been seen as a poor man, a drifter, when he steals," Carrey scratched her blonde hair.

"So the life of crime is familiar to him," Black analyzed. He took a sip of his coffee and almost spit it out, for he had seen something that was most confusing to him. "Wait...why does the file say Tân was deceased? It says he died in a jet crash in the Pacific Ocean with twenty on board. There were no survivors."

Carrey simply shrugged. "Maybe he forged his death with his dark magic. Tân is a dark chi wizard after all."

"No, no, no. That can't be right. I remember hearing about this particular plane crash decades ago. All they could find from the burnt degree was deceased bodies and after some intense testing, it was found that Tân was _dead_," Captain Black rubbed his bald head. "It probably was the work of magic. If Tân actually did make the world think he was dead, then he must've been hiding something pretty big."

"Perhaps so. After the jet crash, there were many complaints filed in from the Philippines that what looked like the ghosts of the plane crash were haunting them," Carry typed in the information she had recently learned onto the computer. There, complaint upon complaint were listed and all of the complaints had the word 'ghost' or 'spirit' on them.

Black narrowed his eyes to clearly read the reports. He had gone through a lot of magic business but he didn't remember hearing or experiencing anything having to do with ghosts. "I never expected ghosts to be something serious."

Carrey spoke. "Yes sir. After seven days of the reported ghosts on the island, a nineteen year-old girl, LoAna Haku, has been reported missing by her family. It was then that the reports of ghosts on the Philippines were no more."

As Carrey was talking to her boss about what she had found, he was on a small computer typing in searches. He had already typed in the last name 'Haku' and had his eyes fixed in on a photo. The background was a picture of a sunny beach. There was a girl standing alone in the image with shining, shoulder-length brown hair. She made the peace sign aimed towards the camera. Underneath the picture was some black letters.

"'Have you seen her? If so, please call 555-9365 or call police," the bald captain read. "Looks like the she was declared dead by the Philippine government in the second year of her disappearance."

"LoAna Haku's kidnapping does confirm that Tân is very well alive," Carrey scratched the top of her head. "Along with her father."

Black perked up, his green eyes going wide. "Say what?"

"Six months after his daughter disappeared. Manila Haku, was reported missing also. By the third year of his disappearance, he too was declared dead by the Philippine government," Carrey croaked. Reading the files made the agent's eyes begin to tear up. She didn't like it when her emotions collided with her job because to her, it was distracting.

Black was silent for a minute before muttering, "He probably went missing looking for his daughter. There's nothing else peculiar about the Haku family. I should've asked Jackie for more information about this," the head of Section 13 cupped his chin. "If I'm going to get more on this case, I'm going to need more information from him."

"Sir! Sir! Captain!" Agent Stork cried. The man rushed over to his boss with black-and-white security pictures. The way he was running looked like he was about to fall in any minute.

"Agent Stork, what is it _now_?" Captain Black gave Stork an exasperated face. He was one of those types of agents who looked silly without even trying.

Agent Stork gave a hearty salute to his boss and stomped his right foot on the ground. "The White Diamond has been reported missing from its cell!"

Captain Black almost snatched the black-and-white pictures and glared at them. If the man had superpowers, the photographs would've burned up. "How—? **Jade**," Black slammed his hand on the desk by the computer he used. "I knew something was wrong."

* * *

The small Section 13 jet finally landed in a small airport just outside of the city of Muzo. Since the Colombian state lay right on the Equator, the Sun's heat beat down on the airplane and through its windows. When Delya had awaken from her short nap, she and her airplane seat had felt like it was in an oven.

"Yowch! That hurts!" she recoiled, shooting up out of her chair. "I should've gotten a blanket to cover myself. Beside the demon dame, Jade was estatic as she looked at the world of Muzo before her. The warmth of the Sun and the crowds of people around reminded her of San Francisco.

"Muzo is mondo coolio!" she exclaimed with the face of a six year-old child. "Let's go! I don't want to miss anything before ol' Uncle Jackie tries to stop us!" Jade jumped up out of her seat and almost dragged Delya out of the plane.

"Hold on, I need to get my bags," Delya said, grabbing her bags. "Are you really this excited?"

Jade waved her hand in a dismissal manner and scoffed. "Tch! Well yeah! All I can do is stay by you and that's it. Technically, I don't have to be told to do anything. It's only a matter of common sense."

Delya slung her sling purse on her back and quickly followed after a jumping Jade. When she was about to step off the plane, she felt a strong hand grab her by the arm. She balled both hands into a fist, ready to punch someone.

"Hey, who do you—! Oh, it's just you, Jackie! Don't do that! I could've accidentally punched you in the face," she held her chest and made a nervous chuckle. The researcher put up his hands in a semi-surrender form.

"Oh! Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you about—."

"-Jade and how she's acting? Yeah, she told me **everything**," Delya pointed a finger to herself, as if she was trying to brag.

Jackie held the back of his neck in a nervous and ashamed manner. "Then you heard about the fight we had."

"Obviously," she rolled her eyes. "I could almost see the glowing frustration in Jade's eyes. She could be ready to bite someone's head off in a second."

"So I know," the archaeologist had a sad expression. "But you know I have every reason to. When Jade came to America in Uncle's shop three years ago, I promised myself that I would protect her with every thing I have, and then I told those exact words to her parents. I didn't realize it would be hard, magic or not. There are bad people out there and who knows? Jade might one day be all alone in the park and from out of nowhere, someone just happens to resurrect Shendu from the Demon Netherworld and kills Jade just like that. Or one day Jade is walking home from school and Daolon Wong comes and swipes Jade off the street," Jackie snapped his fingers. "Everyone will be so disappointed in me."

"Jackie, _Jackie_. You're taking this way out of perspective. Over the many years I've lived my immortal life, I've noticed a pattern—a pattern in a parent-child relationship. If a parent is uncaring of their child, then the child will uncaring for the parent and will be out of control and does whatever. If a parent is very protective of their child, the frustration from them grows and sometimes, the child grows out of control. That's where you need both; you need to give Jade some space and to be that protective Mother-er, _Uncle _Bear."

"I'm surprised you know all this stuff," Jackie playfully smirked.

The remark mad Delya snort and laugh heartily. "Yeah...all those years not having a mother or father to watch over me made me think a lot about life."

"So do you think I should apologize now?" the researcher winced. "I feel somewhat bad for yelling at her."

Delya shook her head and mouthed a 'no'. "No, not yet. Just give Jade time to cool off. Maybe in a couple of days, she'll be fine. Or maybe by the time we get back to San Francisco, she'll forgive you."

"A couple of days?!" Jackie's eyes went wide. To the left of Jackie, two fingers rose to strike his forehead. "OW!"

"What are you sitting around chit-chatting for?! The Green Emerald is here and you are doing nothing!" Uncle gave the stank eye to his nephew.

"Uncle, I was just trying to finish a quick conversation with Delya and-," the Chinese man was trying to demonstrate to his elder, but was interrupted by Uncle pulling out his circular jewel-tracking device that was glowing madly green. Jackie and Delya gasped as their faces were covered in the light.

"Conversation can be finished later. The emerald cries for us to find it before Tân gets it first. Last time, we got lucky to get away with the White Diamond with no trouble. Now the trouble to bring it home with be twice as dangerous," a somewhat grumpy Uncle called as he lead the group.

"Then I guess we have to keep moving," Jade said in a determined voice, punching her fist into her open palm.

* * *

"Hiyah!" a high-pitched shriek came from Cobra as he fiercely kicked a training bag. He had changed into a black tank top and dark grey sweatpants with his Converse sneakers to match. On both sides of him, his buddies Ice and DJ wore the same thing as they were fighting away with their punching bags. Behind the trio in the far corner of the room was Lola, who was intensely watching their ever-increasing fighting abilities.

"Hey Chan, see if you can catch this!" Ice exclaimed as he jumped up and made a roundhouse to the top of the punching bag, acting like it was Chan's head.

"Chan won't be able to fight anymore if he take a swipe at his weak points," with his hands, Cobra sharply struck the sides of the punching bag. "By then, he would've been crawling."

To the right, DJ had his own impressive way of beating his enemy. He first quickly punched the left and the right side of the hanging bag. He swiped at what would be his enemies' legs and used his heel to kick the head of the punching bag. In effect, the topped ripped off and rolled in Lola's direction. The teenager was drawing on her drawing pad when she saw the cottony insides of the head fall off. She kicked the top back to DJ.

"I see you have a lot of hatred for the Chan man," she quipped. Cobra scoffed.

"Who wouldn't? Always messing up people's fun and gettin' them in the slammer. He needa take a chill pill and leave for once."

"You mean for_ever_," Ice rolled his eyes.

Lola tipped her head to one side with a baffled expression. "I thought the world-famous archaeologist was a good man. Like he would find ancient artifacts, decipher them and give them to a museum."

"He does all of that good stuff, turns around and starts beating up the 'baddies' gets them arrested for no good reason. The first time we met him, we were in the Far East taking home this pretty gem we found. Chan shows up with his punk niece and is like, "This belongs to a museum"," Ice mocked Jackie's low voice, resulting in the boys snickering.

"Oh, don't forget he had those loser friends with him too. There was this big guy with a band-aid on his nose, a short Asian guy with orange sunglasses and some guy still stuck in the 70s," Cobra snickered some more. Remembering how hard his friends had kicked their butts was a butt whooping to remember.

"Did they know martial arts too?" Ice, Cobra and DJ exchanged looks quickly to one another. In unison, they burst out laughing.

"Girl, watchu _mean_ they know martial arts?!" Cobra squealed.

"Those losers couldn't even touch us! Took less than seven seconds to beat them down!" Ice wiped a laughing tear from his eyes.

"OK and what about the niece? What was she like?" Lola wrote the Ice Crew's description of her enemies down on her drawing pad.

"Simple. She was a midget; half of her uncle's size," Cobra put his hand near my waist to show Jade's height. "What was her name again?"

"Jada...Jayden. Err, Jayla...Gale...Jade! Yeah, it's Jade Chan aka M.S."

As Lola wrote all the info down, she looked up briefly. "'MS'?"

"MS is Major Shrimp. Get it all down so when we meet them, you'll know who we talkin' about," Ice placed his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "She was spunky, just like De-Girl."

"De-Girl was kinda cute though," Cobra rolled his tongue.

"And De-Girl was Delya, correct?"

"You got it."

Lola finished writing the last part of info down before tapping his chin with her writing utensil. "So what exactly did you guys do before you got arrested?"

"We worked as small-time mechanics," Cobra slickly lied through his teeth. He had actually played the lie off well, for DJ and Ice both gave him satisfactory smiles. In the Ice Crew's rules book, Cobra is usually the ones who can tell the best lies. Lola's eyes lit up.

"Oh, that's cool! So you guys can make and fix cars?" the Filipina was close to squealing. Cobra shyly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah. Takes a while though."

"I understand. I can wait."

"Fo' what?"

Lola closed her drawing book in a shy manner and stared at the ground intensely. She was about to ask for a favor. "Well, for a long time now I've always wanted a car. You know, where you can drive to places without wasting too much time. Back home, I could only walk and heaven knows how much time I took getting from place to place."

"Sooooo...?"

"So I was hoping that you know, maybe on your own free time you guys could maybe make a special car for me—if it's okay. I wouldn't want to force you to do something you don't want to," the girl nervously bit her lip. Before she worked for ZIK, she had been begging to ask her dad for a car, but he would always reply with a 'no'. 'You're not ready', always replied her father. Cobra and DJ exchanged bored glances then shrugged.

"Sure...I mean if you really want a car, we could order one up for you. We could even make some time making your ride sleek," the flirtatious smile crept up Cobra's face. Lola shot up out of her seat and shook Cobra's hand vigorously.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I'm sorry if I disrespected you earlier. I was just frustrated with Mr. Kim because he was putting me under so much pressure these past few days," the female adolescent sighed sadly. She stood straight up and bowed with her hands in prayer form. "Anyway, I should be going now. You guys need to concentrate on doing what you need to do. I hope what I'm asking for isn't too much for you."

Ice waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Nah. We've done bigger things, like a tricked out submarine. Cars are pieces of cake."

"You think we should check out the junkyard to find some car parts for Lil' Mama?" Cobra asked. Once Lola left through the sliding entry doors, the boy were able to talk freely without having to lie.

Ice took a white towel and dried his face off from his sweat. "Nah. We shouldn't worry much about Lola. She's boring anyway."

"Bro, you saw how much she wanted a car. Besides, what kinda teen don't got a ride? That's like a person without the proper breath of life, yo. Let's just make this one thing for her and then we don't gotta worry anymore,' DJ crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking back and forth between both sides of the disagreement.

"So you're makin' a car for a girl you like? Is this just to impress her?" Cobra shrugged and made a half-smile.

"Lil' Mama—er, Lola is quite suave. I couldn't date her, but she's is a cutey," Ice shrugged. "What 'bout chu, DJ?" Ice turned to his taller companion. The boy made a complimentary grunt and nodded.

Ice groaned and face-palmed. "Fine, but only this once. You don't wanna let Chan know you gettin' soft on cute girls an' all."

"A'ight but one thing. What happens if Lola happens to be around Chan and they start talkin' and Chan tells her the truth and everything?" the concerned question popped out of Cobra's mouth. Ice made a sinister laugh and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Leave that big fat lie to StrikeMaster Ice."

* * *

"Foreigners, hunh? Registration, por favor," a heavy-set man with his homeland Colombian accent grumbled. The Chan Clan stood at the door of the Museum of Boyacá, with two guards standing outside of the entrance. Once the Chan Clan set their things in their hotels, Jackie wasted no time finding the Green Emerald in the bustling city of Muzo. Uncle had his gemstone tracking device in one hand and the other held his sickly green salamander.

"So you are new here?" 'Jhon Jairo' questioned, wearing a somewhat impressed face.

"Of course. I came here for...for...for job purposes! Yeah, my local museum back in San Francisco wanted a diamond from Muzo," Jackie stuttered. Jhon then quipped up.

"You mean emeralds?" the security guard beamed.

"Yes! Yes, of course emeralds. You know, the green and pretty ones that are brilliantly cut and shine in the sun," soon enough, the geeky and awkward side of Jackie was showing. While he was trying not to look stupid, Jade had face-palmed, Uncle and Tohru pitifully shook his head and Delya could only hide her face in he hands.

_Nephew is so foolish_," Uncle mentally sighed. He was close to saying it aloud too.

"Hold on," as Jackie reached into his pocket to get his card, he looked over at Uncle. He pointed to the man stating, "Why is your grandfather holding a cylinder object with green decorated all over and a salamander in his hand? Are those weapons? If so..."

Uncle snorted. "Who said Uncle's lucky salamander and gemstone detectors are NOT weapons! And who are you calling 'grandpa'?!" Uncle charged at Jhon, ready to right if it wasn't for Tohru.

"Excuse my uncle. He has just had jet lag from our trip. He'll be fine by the time we get back home," Jackie handed Jhon his card and papers. The man looked at them for a quick few seconds, examining every part.

"Ugh! Can we go now? This examination is taking forever!" Jade moaned, stamping her feet. Jhon gave Jackie back his papers and nodded. "You are clear to go. Have a pleasant day in the Museum of Boyacá."

"Thank you very much. Now let's go!" Jade practically dragged Delya into the gallery.

"Oh Jade," Jackie pitifully shook his head. Uncle harrumphed.

"It's not just Jade. Remember when you were Jade's young age you were so full of energy, like her," came Uncle's comment. Jackie looked down at the floor, then back at his niece running down the hallways.

"I know, and I don't like it."

* * *

After a couple of more turns, Jade almost shoved Delya into the boys bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her. She opened it again, looked left and right. The teenager then closed the door again.

"Jade, what is your problem? Have you been eating too much sugar?" the demon dame put her hands on her hips. "And why are we in the boys bathroom?"

"Doesn't matter and of course not. You know Jackie would regret the day of giving me sweets," Jade raised her brow to her friend.

"Not what I meant..."

"Check it out," Jade dropped her book-bag on the tiled floor and opened it up somewhat proudly. When Delya looked inside, the glare from the White Diamond flashed in her eyes. Delya gasped and covered her mouth to silence herself

"Jade! You know you're not—how did you—what did you do?" Delya managed to stutter. "How did you get past Section 13's security?"

"Let's just say I have my ways," the clever Asian smiled.

"You better be lucky no one's around to hear us or we would be in so much trouble. You don't know how many problems we've gained just by you bringing the White Diamond along!" Delya shrieked.

"C'mon De! Calm down! You're gonna let people hear us!" Jade hissed making a playful, yet sharp jab at Delya's leg. "It's really nothing! If we start to lose in the battle against Tân, we can use this baby and beat the guy up before he gets the Green Emerald."

The demon dame nodded her head. "And what if you get caught?"

Jade made a flying roundhouse kick followed by a series of fierce punches. "Easy. You just show up and start kicking major butt with your fire and your lightning and your light. You'll be kicking _way_ more butt than Jackie, obviously because you're not a human."

Delya looked around in her surroundings, shuddering at the urinals put on the walls. "OK, I agree with your plan. But can we please leave the boys bathroom? This place is just so disgusting. I still don't know why you came here in the first place," Delya began pushing Jade out of the bathroom.

"Sorry. I just really wanted to show you what I scored."

Delya put her hands on her hips and lowered herself to Jade's level. "And what would Captain Black say when he finds the White Diamond is gone?"

"He's just way too slow to catch up to me. I'm always 10 steps ahead of everyone else," Jade waved off the scare.

As Delya closed the door behind her, the bathroom stall door all the way to the left opened and Jun stepped out. A malicious sneer was painted all over his face as he started to laugh softly.

"If I can't bring home the Green Emerald, then I can at least try and bring home a consolation prize."

**A/N: This chapter was pretty interesting. We got some history on Tân, Cobra begins his move trying to impress Lola while Jade finally reveals her secret to Delya as she stole the White Diamond. To top it all off, Jun was listening to the whole conversation. He is a super sneaky snake, as chapters go on.**


	16. Chapter 16

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Uncle droned on as he held his gemstone tracking device with both hands. Each brilliantly-cut gemstone that was put on display in the gallery, the good wizard passed by them as if they were nothing special. Uncle and Jackie had spent 30 minutes searching throughout the left wing of the building while Tohru, Delya and Jade were busy checking the right wing.

Jackie let out a small yawn. "Uncle, have you found anything—_ouch_!"

"Do you see Uncle still trying to examine jewels? Yesss? Then let Uncle work! He will call you when he finds proper magic gem," he stuck his bony finger in his nephew's face. Jackie backed away with his hands held up in surrender.

"I am sorry Uncle, but this search is taking forever to find the Green Emerald. What if Tân comes?"

"That is for Jiang to worry about. You just have to distract him and his forces while your Uncle keep searching," Uncle waved off the threat. He was ready to fight Tân.

"Are you sure the Emerald is even here? I mean, it did seem to be working in a funny way when we arrived," a skeptical Jackie countered. Old Man Jiang fixed his glasses as he listened to Jackie complain.

"I am curious about why Uncle's device is having faulty attitude. Maybe another magic is interfering with its' work."

"Probably Tân's dark magic?" Jackie shrugged. Uncle fixed his glasses once more.

"If so, Tân must've brought along a dark wizard such as himself," the elder Asian stroked his beard. He knew something was amiss.

* * *

The trio of Tohru, Jade and Delya were searching for the Green Emerald. They moved slowly, closing checking each gem they examined. It took about three minutes for each. As the trio slowly moved along, they weren't having any progress either.

Delya let out a huff and whipped her hair from her face. "I swear we've been at this quest for hours."

Tohru took a look at the clock right above the display he just checked. "We've only been searching for thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes feels like for-ever," Jade said as she kept her hands in her pocket. In reality, the niece really shouldn't have said anything. During the 30 minutes, Jade wasn't paying attention to the search at all. She was holding the White Diamond in her pocket tightly.

_I could've sworn that I started floating_, she thought looking down at her feet. She noticed Delya rapidly tapping her feet on the clean floor.

"I bet by now Jackie and Uncle found the "guests" we're supposed to expect. Not that I'm saying you're slow Tohru, but you are slow!"

"I apologize but this search is going to take awhile. I need you to let me take my time so I do not mess up," Tohru sadly shook his head. He took a concerned look at his device and added, "Apparently, I think I _have_ messed up when making the tracking spell for the Emerald. Uncle will not be to happy about that. It will be a miracle if we do find the Green Emerald."

The demon dame mentally cringed and rubbed the back of her neck. She placed her hand on the 480-pound man's waist. "I'm sorry. I'm just feeling impatient and I kinda wanna go home now." Tohru came to the last display, placing his triangular device on top of the display case.

"Did you guys just see that?" Jade tugged at Delya's pants.

"See what?"

"I swear someone was watching us from the corner," the niece pointed behind them.

"You're just being paranoid," Delya shooed away the claim as Tohru's machine glowed green. In the middle, a holographic form of the Green Emerald levitated before the trio. The light was so bright Tohru had to quickly stuff his machine back into his overalls before anyone noticed.

"Looks like we hit jackpot," Jade smiled. She reached forward to try and pick up the gem when Tohru lightly grabbed her wrist.

"Remember: this is a gallery and people are watching. We can't just take the gem from the display. It's stealing," he shook his finger disapprovingly. Behind him, a couple were on the hallway taking pictures with their cell phones.

"Don't forget about the security cameras watching our backs like dogs," Delya pointed to the ceiling. A black camera with a small red dot on it rotated in a circle.

"So then what do we do?" Delya asked. "Should we call Jackie?"

Jade stomped her foot and glowered at her friend. "No! We are **not** calling Jackie!"

"Or we could just ask someone who works here," Tohru suggested. Behind him, a male worker was using a cloth to gently remove the dust from the glass of the display case. The Japanese man walked up and tapped the man's shoulder. "Excuse me sir. We need your help."

The young man snapped his head to Tohru's direction. Usually, people would look at the 480-pound man and immediately tremble before him. The man didn't seem phased by appearance at all.

"Oh, tourists to Columbia yes? My name is James. How may I help you?" the man smiled.

"Are you a new worker or you've worked here for a while now?" a humble Tohru asked.

"I've been working at the Museum of Boyacá for five years putting gemstones on display and off. It's not much but I love it."

Delya instantly pointed to the display case like she was a child. "That gem. We need it. Where's your supervisor, the boss, the one in charge?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. The jewels are not for sale. You mean my boss? Hmm, I'm not sure. Maybe he's in the storage room," James peered at the Green Emerald and frowned. "This isn't supposed to be for the public."

"What do you mean? Isn't it the same like the others?"

"Would it really matter if you didn't put it out for the world to see? This is a museum after all," Jade chimed in with a careless tone.

"No, I mean this is supposed to be in the storage room. I need to put this back before my boss sees..." the young man mumbled. Everyone stepped back and let the employee try and lift up the glass cover.

"Do you need help? If you want, I can—," Tohru offered.

"No I got it. I just have to put in my card." Through a card checkout, Juan put his work card through a red line. The line turned green, letting the glass open itself up.

"James has been working at the museum for five years but he still doesn't know how to work card checkout thingy. That's weird," Jade whispered to Tohru. He nodded but didn't say a word.

"I must thank you newcomers for reminding me to put this back where it belongs," the young man said turning around to leave.

"Now Uncle's going to get really mad," Tohru made a low whistle. Just then, a short men with a thin brown mustache stepped around the corner. The man was so short he had to waddle. On his shirt, there was a small sign that said 'José'.

"Hey! ¿Dónde crees que vas con eso? [Where do you think you're going with that]?" James looked around, making sure José wasn't talking to him.

"Could you repeat that in English, por favor? [please]?" James quivered. José ignored him and turned to shake Tohru, Delya and Jade's hands with a face of great respect.

"I am so sorry about this. I shouldn't have let James clean up today. I told him to leave this part of the gallery alone," José made a dangerous glare at his employee. James looked like he was innocent.

"So can I take this to the storage room or what?"

"James, you know this stuff. You know if the case is broken, you must report to me immediately instead of trying to handle the situation yourself. The glass isn't even broken! You've known this for five years and you've always obeyed. Don't tell me you don't remember where the storage room is."

James shamefully shook his head _no_ and began turning red like a tomato. The penguin-of-a-man José slapped his face and sighed. Delya unconsciously clenched her fists and fixed her eyes at James, who was standing around awkwardly.

"Something's most definitely up with this..."

"Since when are you-OOF!" A another man came down the hallway and bumped into the boss man. They both fell with a crash.

"Lo siento mucho, señor! [So sorry sir]! Yo estaba en una gran cantidad de tráfico y me desperté tarde! [I was in a lot of traffic and I woke up late!]" the man who crashed into José cried out in his native tongue. When he got up, he gasped. This made Tohru and Jade take in a deep breath while Delya was busy choking on her on spit.

"I didn't know you had a twin," she held her throat.

"So did I. I'll have to speak to my mother about this..." James stroked his chin. He pointed to the clone of himself. "Why is there another version of me?" he pointed to what seemed to be his identical twin. The James who was holding the Green Emerald with the case sighed and mumbled a Spanish curse.

"I was about to get away with it too," the Colombian accent disappeared and was replaced with an American accent. His appearance changed from his a tucked-in blue and white shirt with khaki pants to a completely different look. The boy's shirt was a plain dark blue with an open buffalo plaid and unbuttoned shirt. The plaid shirt sleeves were rolled up above the elbow. There was some knee-length grey camo pants that comfortably matched the outfit. Ankle high Converse's with no laces were on his feet. In his left hand was a pocket knife glowing blue. Tohru pulled out his blow-fish while Delya got into fighting stance.

"I had a feeling James wasn't really James," Jade snarled. José looked back and forth from the James imposter to the real James.

"Se me ha jugado para un tonto. [I have been played for a fool]," he muttered before passing out in shock on the tile floor. Soon enough, the real James did the same.

"Looks like we have to mop the floor with this loser," Delya cracked his knuckles. "And when I mean 'we', I say Tohru and I. As for you Jade, go find Jackie and Uncle."

Jade instantly dropped her stance and her mouth, leaving it hanging open. "Delya, c'mon! You know the both of us can-."

Delya placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "Jade, this is way too dangerous for you to jump in. Leave this to us. Maybe when you come back, I can give you some of my leftovers. Right now, Tohru and I got the main course."

"Fine. Only this once," Jade took off like a rocket down the hallway and made two quick turns, finding herself back near the middle of the entrance. From her pocket, she pulled out the White Diamond and smiled.

"At least I get something outta this."

Tohru and Delya spread out, Delya taking the left side and Tohru standing to the right. His chi magic was glowing green in his hand.

The boy scratched his spiky hair and frowned. "So you're a chi wizard too? I knew I should have brought more curry powder..."

Delya made a dark chuckle and brushed her hair out of her face. She put her hands on her hips and asked, "Aren't you a playful and loving boy? Who are you anyway? Aren't you a little too young to be jewel searching? You're like, fourteen."

"For your information _smart one_, I'm nineteen. As for my name, you don't need to be worry about that."

Tohru exchanged a concerned/worried look at Delya while she was looking very confident. She burst into a fit of laughter. "You're so funny! You don't even know how to use that thing you have in your hand."

"You mean my throwing knife?"

"Yeah whatever. This is going to be so easy, I could just mop the floor with you in no time. You're on my side, right Tohru?" The Japanese man shook his hands frantically and shook his head.

"Um..."

"He said yes. Anyway—YOW!" The next thing the demon dame knew, she was sprawled out on the floor a few feet backwards. Tohru could only muster a ferocious glare as he desperately tried to keep his ground. One version of him wanted to help Delya up and the other still wanted to fight on with the boy.

"Not a little kid now, am I?" the teenager smiled as he flipped his pocket knife around fancily.

* * *

"Looks like everything on this side is checked. Let's try the other," Jackie said as he scratched his hair. Uncle thumped the side of his chi device and put his ear to it.

"Either it is Uncle's mistake or the gem is not here," Uncle turned to his nephew. Suddenly, the device flashed green. This startled Uncle so much he almost dropped his machine.

"Looks like we have found the Green Emerald," he smiled.

"Uncle Jackie! Uncle Jiang! Emergency on the right wing! Big trouble! You gotta hurry!" Jade called running down the hall, frantically pointing the way she came.

"Jade?" said Jackie.

"You found the Green Emerald?" Uncle's ancient eyes opened, fixing his glasses for a better view of his niece.

"Yeah, but so did this other boy that came up..." Jade babbled.

Even though Jackie was still frustrated from the fight earlier with his niece, he placed his hands on Jade's shoulders. "What boy?"

Jade simply shrugged. "I dunno. Delya sent me off to talk to you before I could find out. I also wanted to tell you that if the boy is here, then that means..."

"That means you must face me," a dull, deep tone came from behind Jackie. It was the dark wizard Tân, standing daintily with his cane. The top fake jewel on the top of the cane was furiously flashing green.

"Bwah! Tân!" Jackie gasped, struggling to find the best fighting stance.

"That's what I was trying to warn you about," the Chinese niece pointed to the wizard. Uncle gave his jewel searching device to Jade and turned around with a snarl.

"What do you want, _old friend_?" Uncle growled. Seeing the traitor made the light wizard's hand clench together. Tân cackled.

"The same thing you do: the Green Emerald. Now hand it over."

"But we don't even have it yet!" the niece exclaimed. Tân opened his mouth to whip out a smart response with his cane stopped glowing green.

"What the—?! It's not working?" the old man hit the cane with his hand, then the floor. The jewel turned from green to white in under 5 seconds. The light shocked the warlock and made him drop his magic item. As the cane rolled on the marble floor, its light bounced off the walls and into the eyes of everyone there, thanks to the many mirrors and windows around.

"Why is my cane glowing white? It shouldn't be that way," the dark wizard used his arm to block his eyes from the harmful rays.

"Unless..." Uncle had his hand placed on his chin. He turned around and had out his hand in a scolding-like way to Jade. She wore a nervous look on her face.

"Uncle, I hardly believe Jade has anything of our interest...," Jackie tried to persuade Uncle before stopping mid-sentence. Jade reluctantly handed Uncle the White Diamond and made a pouty face.

"Looks like I got busted."

"How did you take the White Diamond from Section 13 anyway?" the archaeologist put his hands on his hips.

"What can I say? I'm always ten steps ahead of everyone," a silly Jade smiled.

"This is exactly what I was talking about earlier! You are always putting people in danger, like sneaking things," Jackie made a face palm. The niece nonchalantly shrugged at the thought.

"Enough talk!" Tân snarled as he snatched his cane from the floor. Even though the top of the stick was blinding everyone, he still needed it to defend himself. "We settle this here and now!"

Tân fired rounds off with his magic item in his left hand and his eyes closed tight. Even though he was trying to defend himself, it seemed like his trusted cane did not obey his orders. As he fired off his dark purple chi at Uncle, it was hard for the elder to hit back. The problem was Tân's aim, for he was very good at hitting targets with his eyes closed. This was bad on Uncle's part because he had to move around a lot, courtesy of the White Diamond. As high as the elder flew in the air trying not to hit the ceiling, the dark chi would still find him.

"What on Earth is going on—augh!" the security guard from the entrance Jhon Jairo ran in with his weapon drawn, only to be hit in the chest by Tân. He flew into the wall and fell onto his face into unconsciousness.

"He had it coming," the dark wizard shrugged. "Not my problem."

"But you are Uncle's problem," in the air, Uncle pulled out his dried salamander from his back pocket. "Now, you are everyone's problem." Uncle pelted off his rounds down on Tân. He quickly made a dark barrier to protect himself.

"Is that all you've got, old man? Your chi seems pretty mediocre. I'm hardly breaking a sweat here," the dark wizard bragged.

"You are ten years older than Uncle! Who are **you** to talk?!" the Chinese light wizard snorted. He lowered himself from the air and made a barrier just in time as a dark purple laser came his way.

"Jackie...take Jade...get the Emerald and leave! Leave before anyone get seriously hurt," Uncle groaned, pushing back against the beacon of darkness. Jackie pushed his niece to the ground and soon followed, trying hard to get hurt.

"**You're** going to get severely hurt," Jackie protested as he cautiously started to get up. A shot of dark chi narrowly missed his head and burned a small strand of hair.

"This is too dangerous for anyone, since we can't see!"

"Tân! Tân, pick up the walkie-talkie already!" Jun tapped in. The device hanging on the man's side vibrated as he began to pick it up. "This is serious!"

"What is it?" came a tired response.

"I have the gem in sights, but this girl and some big guy are stopping me. I need your help," Jun pleaded.

"You better find Delya and Tohru fast because if we go home without Green Emerald in good hands, you will get a whooping big time!" Uncle warned in a high and drawn out sentence. He dropped his shield and at the same time, him and Tân fired their lasers at one another.

"Your nephew is clueless in the world of magic, isn't he?" in the many years Tân was alive, he had never seen someone as clueless as Jackie—and Tân had met a lot of foolish people in his lifetime.

Uncle rolled his eyes. Though the elder men were enemies, there was one thing they could most definitely agree on. "You have no idea."

* * *

"Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao," Tohru chanted. His blow-fish in hand shot out a chi blast that singed a piece of Jun's hair.

"Holy crap! Christ, that hurts!" he cried. From a pocket (Tohru assumed from the back pocket), a card fell out.

_I wonder what that is_, he pondered to himself. Then, many strikes of what seemed like blue lightning struck Tohru in the arm, leaving a large black mark the size of two of his finger (which were very big).

"Ow!"

"You got burned! No pun intended," Jun grinned as he sliced through the air with another strike of lightning. This time. Tohru was quick to dodge the slash and return with his own. This went on for awhile with one getting burned and one missing the other.

"Yu Mo Gwai Gwaai Fai Di Zao," Tohru chanted faster. As Tohru shot his blow-fish aiming for Jun's chest, the boy retaliated with the same thing. Now both of the chis were at each other, one pushing against the other. The favor was more on Jun's side because of Tohru's weariness.

"Big and slow like a turtle," he laughed as he stopped to mockingly let Tohru take a breath. "What's wrong, big boy? Mama fed you too much?"

What Jun said to the newly-realized chi wizard was a low-blow, especially when talking about his mother. Sometimes trash talk was avoidable but not when talking about family, especially his.

"Do not. Talk. About. My. **MOTHER**!" Tohru raged. His tiredness disappeared and the abundance of his green chi grew. However, it could not push back against Jun's lightning. The teen coughed out some smoke and was still able to give a deviant smile to his opponent.

"I have to admit you're strong, big guy, but not like me!" Jun couldn't help but to brag.

"How is it that your power is equal to mine? You are still a dark wizard in training," Tohru strained. The powerful force of their chis was pushing the large man back inch by inch. "I have just become a fully realized chi wizard.

"You jealous, pretty boy?" Jun laughed.

"Tohru has no reason to be jealous. It's me you should be worried about," Delya arose from behind Tohru. Her hands were engulfed in what looked like lightning bolts equal to Jun's, only a lighter blue. The teen boy gasped and took a step back. He ducked from under Tohru's light chi, which hit a wall and left a mark. The boy's eyes were wide with shock and he nervously bit his lip.

"Okay, the first time you got me because I was being overconfident. Now you're gonna regret that shot and talking smack about Tohru's mother. I don't know her personally, but that is still _not_ okay!" Delya pointed at him with her hands glowing a fiery red. The big man could only make a mental eye roll.

"What are you people?" the nineteen year old gave a hard stare at the power duo.

"That's none of your business little boy!" Delya growled. With the index and middle finger together, Delya created a fire dart that hit Jun in the hand. The dart wasn't completely hot, but it could sting.

"Agh!" the boy cried. His pain reduced him to his knees, holding his hand in pain. Tohru leaned over in Delya's ear just as she blew the smoke from her fingers.

"I have a plan, but you must be careful. While he's down, you run out this hallway. From behind, you pick up the case and run off with it. The safest place to go to is the entrance door to the museum. When I beat him, I'll go back and tell everyone else where to meet you," the sumo-like man directed, showing the directions of the hallway with his finger.

"Okay," Delya eagerly nodded. She quickly darted down the hallway and made a turn just as Jun got off from his knee. He was breathing hard but for some reason had a smirk on.

"Err, you're tougher than I thought for a big guy," came Jun's complain. He had initially thought Tohru would be the easiest to fend off.

"Has your mother ever tell you not to judge a book by the cover or has she not taught you any manners at all?" Tohru retorted. Inside the shirt, Jun whipped out his blue weapon. "Eat my chi!"

Jun's aiming skills for his chi bullet weren't exactly the best but weren't too bad either. To make sure he wouldn't get hurt, Tohru put a green barrier around himself as the red lightning bolts bounced off the green shield, hitting everything but the light wizard.

"Nothing but the leaf of a wax palm will boost my power," inside Tohru's small knapsack was a small leaf. The man rubbed it all over his blow fish, making the shield bigger.

"What the...what are you doing?" the shield soon engulfed both chi wizards. Jun's knife wiggled wildly out of the boy's hand. He quickly let go before getting himself cut, letting the knife run wild and hit blade point first into the wall on the opposite side.

_This is just great. My day was going to be completely fine today but then this happens. I'm going to be _walking_ home with bruises all over and some fierce scolding from Kimikaz and Tân_, Jun grumbled. _My life is a serious mess._

As the teen chi wizard was busy trying to pick out his chi instrument, Delya finally found the hallway behind the big showdown. She picked it up and jumped up and down excitedly, trying to make a silent signal to Tohru without Jun looking. The large man nodded and waved his hand ahead.

"Go, go!" he hissed. Delya pointed at the black mark. Even though he wasn't exactly aware of his arm it still was quite embarrassing, especially imagining was Uncle would say.

She darted down the hall with the box close her her chest. She almost ran into a couple of people while on her escape route, telling them a quick 'sorry' behind her shoulder before she kept going. Delya was actually surprised that no one had tried to stop her, for she was running so fast. It was embarrassing that she had to run from who claimed to be nineteen and who just happened study extra hard in his books. The demon dame was sweating like crazy from her running exercise and the heat in Columbia made it worse. To her it was like forever wearing water. Finally, she found a stopping point and rested one of the girls' bathroom. She fiercely pushed open the door and almost slammed the box down on marble countersinks.

"Nobody's in here, right?" Delya took a quick look in each stall to find no one. "Good. Oh man, so much unneeded exercise today," Delya complained, wiping her brow. Luckily, above her the AC was on full blast and its air was very cold.

"This feels good," because of the many security guards running up and down the hallways, Delya was stuck staying in the big room, waiting for the men and women to leave. She wasn't about to get caught yet. The game of running around and hide-n-seek seemed a lot like the games Delya used to play as a child and she was pretty good at it too. She glanced over at the glass sitting idly on the marble counter.

"Might as well take the jewel out and leave the glass behind," the demon dame quickly and carefully took the emerald gemstone without making a sound. The sound of running footsteps coming down the corridor abruptly stopped at the door of the little girl's room. Delya's instincts took over, enabling her to stand completely still like a stone statue. She had half a mind to see what was going on outside.

"Una de las esmeraldas falta de la vitrina en la banda derecha. Podría haber sido robado. [One of the emeralds are missing from the display case on the right wing. It might have been stolen.]," came a baritone voice from a man. Delya guessed him to be tall and somewhat old.

"Por que? [By who?]" a lady on the other end asked.

"No estoy seguro, pero no ha habido una pelea entre un niño y un hombre. Me dirijo al pasillo en este momento [Not sure, but there has been some fight between a boy and a man. I'm heading to the right corridor now]," as the male security guard spoke, Delya took off her black and sleeveless jack and carefully wrapped it around the green jewel.

"The bad thing about this situation is I don't know anything about Spanish except the numbers one to ten," Delya chuckled to herself.

"Tuve la libertad de admitir James y el jefe de un hospital. [_I had the liberty of admitting the boss and James to the hospital._]"

"Jhon está inconsciente y hay una serie de alteraciones en el extremo izquierdo. Es necesario darse prisa! [Jhon is unconscious and there is a number of disturbances in the far left. You need to hurry!]" the crackling of the radio stopped. Whoever was on the other side ran the other way, the heavy footsteps becoming lighter within distance. After waiting a few minutes, the demon chick took a quick peak outside, checking left and right.

"Okay, this coast is most definitely clear," she nodded to herself, looking down into her arms. Delya bit her lip and sighed nervously. "The only problem I'm having now is where the entrance to the museum is."

**A/N: And that's a wrap for chapter 16! I hope you all enjoyed it. It took a lot of painful time rewriting scenes and filling some in because they wouldn't fit well with the story. The next chapter is coming right up and I will see you then. As you wait, please read and review. I'd like to know some of your thoughts as you read the story. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

Tân fast walked down the halls of the Boyacá Museum, dodging Uncle's powerful raining chi blasts. He had his shield up, but it was weak since they were fighting for an extended amount of time. The evil wizard didn't bother trying to count the minutes.

"Jun, where are you? Tell me because I am heading to the right wing now!" he raised his voice in his walkie talkie to make sure his partner could hear. No answer.

"Jun? Are you there boy? Pick up!"

Still no answer. Not even the annoying crackle of the radio.

"I wonder what happened...yikes!" finally, Tân's weak shield broke as the old man hit the floor. Uncle was yards behind him with his blowfish in his hand, twirling it around fancily.

"Jiang may be old, but this dog always has new tricks, thanks to Chi Master Fong," Uncle acknowledged his late teacher.

Tân chuckled, beginning to stand up. "You mean that old fool? The one defeated by Daolon Wong? Your chi master must've been not so strong to have been defeated by such a weakling dark wizard like him. Wong and Fong are both great disgraces to the chi wizard name."

"True, Daolon Wong was a fool but Master Fong was not. One of the smartest wizard Uncle has ever known," the elder clenched his fists. No one dared to disrespect Master Fung while he was around.

"Don't forget to add one of the _weakest_ wizards ever to exist," with his stick, the dark wizard made a sweeping motion on the walking carpet. This created dark shocks of lightning, which travelled straight to Uncle's direction. "Word even got around that Wong has defeated you a couple of times.

"All you have heard is lies! Aiyah!" he screamed. Just in time he stepped onto the marble. "Nice trick, but can traitor friend dodge this?" Beside Uncle was a newly installed mirror. The Chinese elder pointed his blowfish at it a fired away. Miracously, the mirror wasn't harmed. The chi bolt violently bounced off the mirror, the ceiling, a glass case, the marble floor then finally Tân. The Viet didn't fall down, he just slid backwards, still bent on one knee. He gently touched his chest and gave a horrific look at Uncle. "What did you do? Was that...?

"That was ancient Yenbo Fire Magic. Courtesy of yours truly. It was a pretty good spell at that now that I have eel saliva," he patted his knapsack bag.

Tân muttered Vietnamese curses under his breath. He could feel himself getting hotter in his head. "I—!"

"Yo Tân! You there? I finally subdued the sumo guy," Jun declared proudly over the radio. Tân could've bet Jun was wearing the biggest grin on his face.

Uncle gasped, his hand covering his mouth. The reaction quickly turned from surprise to anger. "That's **my** Tohru your boy has his hands on!"

Seeing Uncle's mad reaction made Tân's day. He talked into his MicroTalk. "Perfect. I will be there soon. You possess the Green Emerald, right?"

The radio got quiet. The walkie-talkie started crackling again. "Well...I mean-um...you see..."

"You don't have it, don't you?" So much for Tân's happiness.

"...not exactly...it was just here and me and this girl and the guy were fighting..." Jun mumbled.

"And this girl ran off with the Emerald while you were busy playing games?"

"I wasn't playing games!" the adolescent defended himself. "This sumo dude was playing games with me!"

"You know what? I don't have time for this," Tân let go of the 'talk' button and carefully placed the small radio back in his pocket. "I'm coming your way."

"You aren't going anywhere," warned Uncle. "Unless you want to have some more of Uncle."

The wizard took a step forward, then stopped. He sneered at Uncle and put his mouth back to his communicator. "Forget what I said earlier. Seems as if I'm a little...busy. You get the emerald and don't disappoint me. Got it?"

"Yessir!"

* * *

Delya had her jacket back on and with luck, remembered that she had a knapsack to put the Emerald in. That would've earned her a facepalm from anybody, so Delya did it herself. The demon dame felt like that one girl in the adventurer-archaeologist movie doing the explorations and fighting.

"What was her name...Reina! Yeah, it was Reina from that Thieves of Lost Treasure movie. Except that I don't get kidnapped and stuffed in a laundry basket," the girl made a mental eye roll. On her way to find the storage room, Dely didn't see anyone that she didn't know before. There were mostly tourists taking lots of pictures and native Columbian children with their parents running around. The museum seemed at peace, even though Delya knew it wasn't.

"That's wierd how when we were searching for the White Diamond, that girl had some powerful chi spells ready to fire. She's only just a kid too. They can't become fully realized chi wizards just like that," to prove her point, Delya snapped her fingers. She bit her lip and rested her finger upon her chin, going in deep thinking mode. "Maybe it's that Mr. Kim guy or the ZIK Corporation or something. I think I heard one of them mention that when they left. I swear chi wizards get younger and younger every day."

For once, the museum's hallways were quiet and weren't filled with people. Delya figured the guards had everyone leave the museum and close until further notice. The slow steps the demon took in the hallway echoed up and down the corridor. The Green Emerald was kept safe in her knapsack, not making any sort of noise every since Delya placed it in her knapsack.

_If only I had the White Diamond with me, I wouldn't have to walk a lot_, Delya groaned, then gasped. A warm chill rolled up and down her spine.

_Ah, something's gonna happen_, Delya acknowledged her sixth sense as she began to back away from the door. Her eyes widened as she stopped dead in her tracks. On an intersection of the hallway, the boy, er-_young man_ was standing and looking straight at Delya. His fists were clenched, the eyes were squinted and his abnormally dark blue eyes seemed to pierce Delya's soul.

"Give it back!" he screamed. Delya noticed how sweaty and frankly demonic, the boy looked.

Delya recoiled and gave Jun a quite silly look. She was a little nervous because of what she saw Jun do to Tohru. She wasn't with him, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Jun beat Tohru. "Give what back?" she nervously laughed.

"The Green Emerald! I know you have it, so give it to me. You don't even know how to use it," the young man glared at the demon.

"Well you couldn't either if the jewel's power was protected by magic that takes a lot of energy to remove. I thought you knew this. You "claim" to be a dark wizard after all," the demon did air quotations. "I know I do."

Jun whipped out his knife from his pocket. He fancily spun it around his finger and held it as if he was holding a little rifle in his hands, the point of the knife pointing straight to what seemed to be Delya's chest. "I'm warning you. I said hand me that stone."

"Dude, it's not just any old stone, it's a—_yai_!" a blue bullet whizzed by Delya's head and hit the wall. The wall was stained with the glowing mark.

"I'm outta here," Delya turned around and ran the other way. "So much for Tohru's plan."

"If you die, it's going to be your own funeral!" Jun called after her.

"No it's not, because I'm not going down just yet, child!"

"I'm not a child!" Jun growled. He fired blue at Delya. She covered her face with her arms, the golden armbands showing. The round hit the gold and upwards to a ceiling light, breaking the light-bulb.

"I hope you, Mr. Kim and ZIK Corporation have enough money to pay for all the damage you did to the museum," Jun's throwing knife was thrown to the wall with Delya aligned against it. The knife cut and cut her right hand, the wound was the about the same size as her index finger. The sharpest point of the knife engraved itself into the wall, sinking in the wall.

"Ow!" she covered the wound in her hand. She could already feel her demon blood spilling out. At first there was white, then the red and slight greenish liquid quickly oozed out the wound. "I hate to stay it to my enemy, but good aim."

To be honest, Jun didn't mean to throw it. When he heard his working company's name, it seemed like an angry reflex. "That was a total accident. But how did you know about them?"

"The brunette girl and Tân told us when we got the White Diamond in South Africa," Delya said as she took in a deep breath from her nose. Her stomach quavered, for she was waiting to see what would happen next. Instead of fighting, Jun dropped his defenses to take a thought.

_Rrr! Lola must've told! And Tân took part too! I should've known they had big mouths_, he angrily contemplated. The next thing he knew, a pair of electric hands came n contact with his chest and stomach, knocking him a few feet on the floor. He sat up.

"Yah!"

"That's what you get for earlier!" the demon dame smirked. Jun knew he was defeated.

"Until next time, Sparky," with his powers, Jun brought his weapon back to him. He ran off behind the corner, narrowly missing the bolt that hit a wall from Delya.

She wasn't exactly sure what to say. She shook her fist at the teenager, "Don't call me Sparky!"

* * *

"Kimikaz, sir!" Ice and Cobra called, proudly saluting their boss. DJ Fist and Lola silently did the same. All four teens stood in Kimikaz's office, side by side. The boss executive sat at his desk, his hands folded and head bowed in prayer-like fashion.

"My mission has been decided for you four," he started out, his position still sitting.

"Aw yeah! Our first mission!" Ice high-fived Cobra. "About time!"

"But I thought you said wait 'til Chan comes back," Cobra reported. He saw his boss flinch.

"What does it matter? We finally get to do something other than stay here! Not that yo crib is lame or anything, Mista Kim," Ice held his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"Yes, but then it will be too long for your mission to wait. You three have mentioned to me about this Delya girl, right?"

"Yeah if you mean Drago's past boo-thang," Cobra answered.

The businessman nodded his head and opened his eyes. "Lola has been informed also?"

"Yessir," came from the Filipine.

"Good. Due to some previous events between Delya and I—" the rich executive began to explain.

"Whoa! You actually got to talk to De-Girl?" Ice's eyes widened.

"Did ya get her?" Cobra pressed on.

"Let me finish. Due to some previous events between Delya and I, I want you to scour the city for Drago, a demon you mentioned before. Don't worry about the girl; she won't be any trouble to you. Just a few days ago, Lola and some few chi wizards pulled out the dragon boy from some...place I don't know what. We imprisoned him in one of our cells and offered to work with him. He declined our services and broke free, briefly injuring my partner who was trying to negotiate with this Drago. I know the demon dragon couldn't have gone far. Can you find him?"

"You got it, boss man!" Ice saluted to his employer.

"We all over it!" Cobra slapped the right side of his chest.

"Lola, you will be in charge of keeping the Ice Crew safe from the public eye," Kimikaz pointed to the girl. "I don't want the new workers from prison being discovered nationwide. And please, if you will use your magic to track down this demon dragon. I want him **alive**."

She bowed and replied, "Yes, Mr. Kim."

"Good."

"What do you want us to do with D-Man?" Ice wondered.

"Do we get to beat him up?" Cobra punched his fist into his palm. DJ nodded as he did the same thing, only his fists making a more audible sound against his hand.

"Do what you can to make sure Drago doesn't try to escape again. Just _do not_ kill him, I repeat _do not kill Drago_," Kimikaz warned. If anyone was to kill Drago, it was going to be him, since Kimikaz had felt like Drago had greatly disrespected him in escaping form ZIK.

"With research of course, I discovered that Shendu was a powerful fire demon sorcerer who ruled over China in the ancient times along with his elemental brothers and sisters," Lola blurted out. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks as everyone gave the chi witch curious looks, so she stared at the floor. "I...I did some research."

"There is nothing wrong with that, Lola. As I was saying, since Drago is the son of a powerful fire demon sorcerer, with Drago's powers maybe he can help find my ancestors' magical gemstones. I would explain to you the story behind them but as I speak we are wasting time, so Lola can. She knows the tale, correct?"

"I do."

"And you and the boys have your MicroTalk with you, just in case you decide to split up?"

"MicroTalk successfully planted in, sir," Lola replied.

"Are they at full power?" Kimikaz asked one more time.

"100% working."

"Good, good. When Drago is subdued, bring him straight to me. Meeting adjourned," he waved his hand off the door, whizzing his chair around so he wouldn't face them anymore. The Ice Crew took their hands from their foreheads and headed out of Kimikaz's office, secretly high-fiving each other and doing little celebratory dances.

"We won't disappoint ya sir!" Ice called as the door slammed behind him. The businessman chuckled.

"Of course you won't."

* * *

"Big T, I can't believe you got beat by a twerp like him," Jade said as she untied Tohru's hands. The girl and Jackie were both there, untying the big man. While fighting, Jun had a rope which he used to violently tied the Japanese man up. The rope was so tight against Tohru's body that when they were removed, there were some red burn marks against Tohru's skin which hurt. Not to mention that he still had injuries on his arms from previous dark chi blasts. When Jackie and Jade had asked what the bruises on Tohru's arm was for, the man explained everything.

"Ooh! That must've hurt!" Jade touched her own hand.

"Don't worry. Once we leave Columbia, Uncle will find a way to fix your injuries," Jackie consoled his friend. Tohru understandably nodded.

"Ouch! Please be careful with the rope. It burns my skin," he covered his hand with his arm.

"Maybe that twerp did do a good job after all. We'll never untie him!" Jade groaned. The rope was made into many big knots.

"The way the boy tied it was like...like a fishnet," Tohru shuddered. "I hate fish."

_What is that?_ Jackie thought, his arms dropped by his sides. Behind Tohru, there was a small slip of paper, a card, with a picture and some words decorated on the back. The archaeologist reached over and picked up the paper and looked at it closely.

"'Jun Shields'?" Jackie turned around to face Tohru. "Is this the boy who fought you?"

Tohru leaned in, squinting his eyes to look at the small print and picture. His facial expression glowered seeing his ID card. "That's the young chi wizard who attacked Delya and I."

"Lemme see," from her uncle's hand, Jade jumped up and grabbed the card, looking at every inch of it. "Jun Kean? What kinda name is that? And the ZIK Incorporated? And how is Jun a chi wizard? It took Uncle years to master it and he just gets it just like that? They must be getting younger and younger every day."

Jackie swiped the card back from Jade's hands. He began using the pass as a sharp object as to cut the wires that imprisoned Tohru. They were pretty dull, but they could work. "A name that will help us discover what he, the ZIK Incorporated and who Mr. Kim are. Perhaps we should keep this and give it to Captain Black to see if he can make heads or tails of it. Speaking of mysteries, where is Delya anyway?"

Tohru slapped his forehead in a forgetful manner, groaning loudly in the process. He stood up, only for the rope to trip him and make him fall. Jackie quickly moved to that rope in-between his ankles, swiping the tip of the card faster than ever. In a few seconds, it finally broke free.

"What's wrong?" Jade asked with slight worry.

"Delya has the Green Emerald! I'm supposed to meet her in front of the entrance door to the museum. The Jun boy is probably after her as we speak."

"But we're not allowed in there. It's for staff only," Jackie added. Jade put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"It doesn't matter now. We stole an emerald, Uncle's too busy fighting Tân, Tohru is tangled like a fish net, no offense."

"None taken," Tohru said.

"And Delya is on the loose, probably being chased around like a dog by Jun. We have no other choice but to break the rules now! We've already broken the rules by stealing from the museum. What else do you expect from us?" Jade shrugged.

"She has a point, you know," Tohru turned to Jackie. He had finally finished the last of the rope knot, the whole thing fell off Tohru's ankles, shoulders and hands.

"Fine. Let's..." Jackie wanted to say as he was interrupted by a loud noise.

"Beep beep! Coming through!" a loud voice yelled down the hall. It was Delya running down the hall as if she was running a marathon.

"Oh! Hey guys," she breathed out, then to Tohru, "I see you're okay, I think."

"I will be fine," the large man bowed towards his friend.

Delya smiled with a hearty nod. "We're still going out with the plan, right?"

"Not anymore," Jade shook her head. "There's no need."

"Good. I'm getting tired of playing run-around-the-museum with children," the demon dame put hands on her knees, wiping her hair from her face again. She finally plopped herself on the floor. "So tired."

"You got away from Jun?" Jackie asked.

"Who?" Delya raised her brow.

"The boy who was with Tân."

"If you mean the dark chi guy, then yeah I guess."

"Look what we found!" Jade showed off Jackie's discovery to the demon. Just as it was about to give her the card, Jade took it back.

"Wait, lemme see!"

"Cool! You're bleeding!" Jade pointed to Delya's bloody hand, leaning in to get a closer look. Delya raised an eyebrow on Jade's reaction. But then again, she was a tomboy. The whole hand looked like the decorations for Christmas. A drop fell on the carpet floor. Tohru was the first to react, quickly backing away from Delya's injury.

"Jade don't touch!" Jackie pulled Jade away. "Remember what Uncle told us?" The niece sighed and nodded.

"Never touch a demon's blood," she mimicked Uncle's voice in a drained tone.

"You should always be careful. Touching a demons' blood can cause a human like you to slip into a coma. It's almost impossible to wake you up. Even if it is, someone will have to go in the dream to pull them out from the deep sleep. It's pretty dangerous," Delya informed. "But don't worry. I can take care of myself."

"Oh yeah. Here ya go," from Delya's knapsack, she pulled out the Green Emerald with her uninjured hand.

"Oh. Thank you. I hope you didn't get injured anywhere else," Tohru bowed his head politely. The demon dame gave him a thumbs up. She stood up and straightened her back.

"You're alright, big guy."

"Let's just go home before you pass out from blood loss," Jade giggled. The four walked down the hall and took the next left. For some reason, the hallways weren't as confusing when Delya walked with a group and wasn't in danger. Jade turned the attention back to Delya. "Wait, why is there some green stuff in your blood?" Jade pointed to the wound. She was correct, for there was green fuzz stacking up on her hand.

_Ooh, I totally forgot about the hemlock stuck inside me!_ she freaked out on the inside. _Drago's going to be so pissed at me if Captain Black and Section 13 track the hemlock back to him_!

"I don't know what it is," the demon dame simply shrugged. The lie perfectly rolled off her tongue. "Jun threw his knife at me and it slit my hand."

"Are you sure? They look pretty serious for green fuzz to be stacked up in your veins and you not feeling anything. Are you sure you're alright? Do you need anything?"

"Probably water and something to wrap my hand in."

"Does it hurt?" Jade's wide eyes stared directly at the dark and bloody wound, mostly at the green fuzz. She had a big urge to touch it if it wasn't for the danger of being put in a coma forever.

"No. I don't really feel anything."

"Perhaps Uncle can help..." Tohru suggested.

"Mm, I doubt it. Uncle's expertise is in good magic and since I'm a demon, the two different types of magic can't come together. There should be something in my house that will suffice. I need to check later on."

"And you won't pass put from blood loss?" Jade reiterated the question as she wore a silly smirk on her face. Delya waved her hand dismissively and laughed.

"Psh! I won't pass out. It's just a simple wound. It won't kill me."

**A/N: Finally I'm back! Once again, I have accidentally taken a super long break from this story, due to some serious writers block. Can you believe it's almost been a month since the last update? Me neither! The break has been so long I've passed through the holidays! By the way, happy late holidays to everyone! Just wanted to get it out there. Now I am okay and ready to keep updating...I think. Plus, I have exams to worry about, in a few days so I'm lucky to have updated before then. But then again, since I will have a long break afterwards, I'll have time. Oh, and while I had writer's block, I went back and revised some of the chapters so some scenes are going to be different. See ya next time and don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts/your predictions of what might happen next.**


	18. Chapter 18

"Finally, Uncle was able to grab Green Emerald from Tân's greedy hands like hawk diving after prey, thanks to homemade Yenbo Fire Magic," Uncle twirled around his blow-fish and blew at the tip at imaginary smoke. All of the Chan Clan were able to returned from Columbia safe and sound. Uncle was telling the story of the fight between Uncle and Tân to Jade. Delya was also listening, for she was lying on what looked like a hospital bed.

Once the plane had landed, the sun looked as if it was close to letting the moon take its turn in the sky. Jackie had Delya and Tohru report their injuries immediately to the doctor, or Ms. Brittany to see what she could do. Tohru was given Tylenol and gauze wrapped around the blue areas, just in case the pain would start. The way the doctor took care of his injuries was quick. Delya was next, since hers was more serious. Once Delya warned her about the dangers of demon blood, the eager woman was ready to help out. Ms. Brittany was especially happy that Uncle couldn't get in the way of science and medicine.

"And this time, Uncle was able to have access to eel saliva," the elder made the smallest hint of a smirk possible.

"Ouch! Watch it!" Delya winced. Ms. Brittany was using heavy-set gloves and tweezers to pluck off the green fuzz that gathered around Delya's wound. By the time the Chan Clan had gotten back to Section 13, the green hemlock fuzz that gathered near her wound were numerous. Delya's right arm was strapped to a machine so it would hold her, just in case she tried to slip out at the last minute. Both her arms was bare, not containing her black and golden armband. Instead, there were set on the counter.

"My arms feel bare and—**ow**—cold," the demon complained, making a pouty face.

"Hon, you do realize that this is going to hurt some? I thought you said they didn't hurt before?" Dr. Brittany lowered her new prescription glasses and gave a look to Delya.

"Now it hurts. It's like ripping off paper glued to your skin. Ow!" the demon recoiled with a screech.

"Well of course this hurts. You can endure the pain. You are a demon, you know," Ms. Brittany remarked, making Delya scoff. "You're supposed to be kinda used to things like this."

Delya turned away from the doctor and pouted some more. "Even if I was human, it would _still_ hurt."

"What about me, kid? I'm trying to properly deal with you with all your blood on the way, making it hard for me to do my job. Now do you want to keep this green stuff inside your veins and eventually die from cardiac arrest or have it out now and live another day?" The doctor added, plucking what looked like green bald of lint from inside the wound. The demon dame flinched, the whole body reacted to the pain.

"You did say you didn't feel anything before," Jade added with simple shrug. Delya was starting to get annoyed by everyone being satisfied at Delya being incorrect on her pain. She glowered at the Chinese girl and kept her quiet.

"I think I'd rather get the lint out now."

Doctor Brittany smiled and nodded her head. "See? Wasn't complicated. By the way you do know what the green fuzz is, right?"

"...No. I have no clue." Dr. Brittany ripped off a small lint before continuing. Delya gripped her hand and clenched her teeth together.

"Alright. Uncle is going to go and find way to remove dark spell from Green Emerald before taking nap. Seats on plane were too hard to sleep on," he made a yawn. Jade jumped out from her chair.

"Ooh! Let me help you with that, Uncle!"

"Last time Uncle checked, you are not chi wizard nor apprentice. Do you want to get hurt? Nooo? Then you stay here. Keep Delya company," Uncle scolded his niece before shutting the door behind him. Dr. Brittany let out what sounded like a deep breath. She made the fanning motion with her hands.

"Whew! I thought he'd _never_ leave! That garlic smell was killing me!" she motioned with a laugh.

"I try to tell Uncle but every time he's like, 'Garlic is good for you'. Tch, as if!" Jade exclaimed with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay, three more," Dr. Brittany plucked out three more of the fuzz, making Delya flinch. Once the doctor was done, she pressed a button that released the grip on Delya's arm. Ms. Brittany placed her tweezers in the sink and began to wash it.

"Okay, hon. You're done."

"Really? I can go?" the demon dame hopped off the bed and tried to make a run for it before the doctor grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, making her sit on the bed.

"But I thought you said it was over?" Delya whimpered. She wasn't ready to feel more pain.

"I meant all the green fuzz is gone, but not the whole procedure itself," Dr. Brittany threw away her gloves and took another pair to put on. She pushed her glasses back to her nose. "We still have work to do."

"Man..."

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed the white spots on your hand," once she said it, Delya cautiously looked at her wound. It was a mix of red and white.

"Heh heh. Delya's wound almost looks like a candy cane," Jade giggled. Delya rolled her eyes at Jade's comment.

"I'll get you some disinfectant to wipe your hand with. After that, I'll wrap your hand in a bandage to stop the bleeding," the doctor ordered.

"Ugh, fine. Jade, you better go," the young woman shooed the little girl with a motion of her hand. "This might be a little to much for your child mind to handle."

"Yeah, I might as well be leaving and—hey! I have the mind of an adult!" came Jade's reply.

"You skipped some stages," Delya pointed out with a snicker.

"I know what's goes on inside my brain," Jade winked at her demon friend before closing the hospital door. Dr. Brittany then began her piece.

"Are you ready to begin the next step? Once we pass, there's no turning back," she said with a funny-like raised eyebrow. Delya groaned and put her head down. Suddenly, she felt a vibrating on her hip. The vibrating noise made quite a racket in the small, quiet room.

"That's yours, right?"

"Oh yeah. Mine," Delya felt heat quickly rising to her cheeks. When she took out her phone, the caller ID read 'Unknown'. The main reason why she was blushing was because she knew it was Drago who was on the other end.

"Can I have a quick second to myself?" Delya pointed to her phone. Dr. Brittany put her hands up in surrender and smiled. She opened the door and let herself out.

"Already ahead of you," said Dr. Brittany.

"Thanks," the demon dame pressed 'Call'. "Hello?"

"Um, Delya?" a deep, male voice spoke onto the phone. Delya punched the bridge of her nose, knowing exactly who the guy on the other side was.

"How did you get my number? And why are you calling me now?" she hissed into the line.

"That's not important now."

"It is because I want some answers and good ones too!" Delya impatiently tapped her foot. She had known a fight was going to start the minute Drago opened his mouth.

Drago let out an aggravated sigh. "It just _isn't_! Anyway, the reason I called you was because...tomorrow...tomorrow you can take me to that stupid shopping place."

Delya chuckled to herself and rubbed her nails on her jacket impressively. "Hm, son of Shendu actually admits that I was right."

"Oh shut up."

"So what made you change your mind?" Delya was eager to know.

"You'll see."

"What? Why can't you tell me now?"

There was a short break at the phone line, for Drago had left. He came back. "You're at Section 13, right?"

"Yup."

"Then no. I don't want those stupid agents listening in on the conversation," a bitter Drago spoke.

"I just came back from Columbia. Everyone's doing their own thing, so just chill. Plus, I kinda got injured while fighting," Delya shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. Drago couldn't help but to laugh aloud into the telephone line.

"Wow. How weak! Oh, how the mighty have fallen!"

"It's not weak! A child-er-_teenage boy_ subdued me with his magical throwing knife and whatnot!" the memories of the fight with Tohru versus Jun ran rampant through her head. So did the same headache that hit her the first time Jun had blasted her.

"What, don't tell me you cried about it too? 'Look at me, I'm an overconfident demon that gets injured by a chi wizard," the son of Shendu insulted his hostess. Delya's fists were clenched and so were her teeth. If she was talking to Drago face to face, she would've definitely zapped him more than once.

"Got anything else to complain about, Lightbulb?" Drago proudly smirked.

Delya had just realized that she had stamped her foot as a response to that remark. She didn't mean to do that. "Do **not** call me that because that's not my name! This isn't 'Diss Delya Day', jerk. And second of all, the guy was a chi wizard. Get that through your head before I do it for you."

"Are you really trying to start an argument with me on the phone?" Drago questioned with a dangerously sharp edge.

"Drago ,you're the one who started the argument. You like to argue and frankly, certain people such as myself are getting tired to of it," the young woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't you ever get annoyed at yourself?"

The phone line instantly became quiet, too quiet. So quiet Delya had thought Drago had ended the phone call. "Hello? Hello, is anyone there?"

"What?" Drago growled. By hearing the annoyed tone in Drago's voice, Delya knew she had gotten to him.

"Ah, peace and quiet at last," the young woman mocked.

"Oh shut up," the dragon hissed. With that, he swiftly ended the phone call. This didn't bother Delya; in fact, she was hoping the conversation would end soon.

"I swear he's going to make me pull all the hair out of my head he drives me so insane!" she muttered to herself as she walked back in the doctor's office.

"Who was that? A telemarketer?" Ms. Brittany wore a silly look on her face. She pushed up her glasses from her nose and shook her head pitifully. "Girl, you don't know how many times they've called me. Both at my house and my job."

Delya made a fake chuckle. "Yeah, stupid telemarketers."

* * *

"Jun Shields, Jun Shields, Jun Shields," Captain Black muttered the name as he typed furiously on the computer. Jackie finally joining Jade gathered around Captain Black's computer as he pressed 'Enter'.

"Hmm, not a lot of information regarding him," Jackie held a curious hand to his chin.

"The ZIK Inc. must've hidden their tracks well when it comes to hiding their employees," Captain Black did the same, scrolling up and down the monitor.

"I thought it was the ZIK Corporation," Jackie added to his friend of six years. The captain gave a tired looked at Jackie and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Really, Jackie? Really?"

Jackie shrugged with a grunt. "It's only a matter of getting the name right."

"Incorporated, corporation, inc. It doesn't matter what they're called, we just need to bring them down," Black muttered. "For now, I'm calling them ZIK Inc. Sounds easier to remember."

Jade, still angry at Jackie, ignored her uncle and pointed to the line of images on the screen. "C.B., maybe go here. You could find some pictures here."

"Or how about we keep looking at the news to see what we can find?" Jackie turned to his computer.

"Hello! There's nothing in the news! Didn't you here what Captain Black said? Just go in the images," Jade turned the bald captain. He was about to click the icon when Jackie took a firm hold of his shoulder.

"Maybe there's nothing in the major news. If we look further on, maybe we'll find news that's barely been viewed."

"Yeah Jackie! Let's do that and waste time while we're at it. Waste time looking at countless news articles for every 'Jun' we find," the Asian rolled her eyes.

Jackie pointed a stern finger to Jade and remarked, "Don't make me ground you, young lady. I am _not_ going to put up with the attitude."

Jade stamped her feet as if she were a little bull and made a face. "Do it! You can put down the cunning one all you want but you can never silence the truth!"

_Almost forgot these two were on bad terms_, Captain Black cringed. As the relatives glare at each other, he could feel the hot breaths of Jade and Jackie come down on his neck.

"I found something," he piped up. Jackie and Jade stopped looking at each other and turned back to the computer monitor.

It was a picture that at the top said 'Family Reunion' in colorful letters. There were many family members standing as close to each other as possible. Many of the people were of different races and nationalities. Asian, African-Americans, Americans, African, Caucasian, Latino, Middle Eastern and many other races stood in the largest group possible smiling away. To the near right, there was a boy—who looked about 6 years old—who looked similar to Jun. He was held in a woman's shoulders who had brown hair and glowing hazel eyes.

"Aw! That boy right there is so cyuuute!" Jade cried out, holding her chin.

"He looks like Jun, only younger," Jackie countered.

"Duh."

"There is a way to verify so," Capt. Black gained a little smirk. "Thanks to my new computer given to me by the government, I'm able to take someone's picture and age it to a certain year."

"Does it work?"

"Never tried it so this is a first. Couldn't hurt, right?" Black typed in some digits and enlarged the boy's face. The captain sat back and let his new computer do all the work. As seconds turned into minutes, the boy presuming to be Jun reached to be the age of around 19. Jackie took out Jun's card and began visually comparing it to the computer's results.

"Looks like we got ourselves a match. Jun is the one in the photo."

"Then we have ourselves another question to answer: when did ZIK Inc. hire Jun? And does his family know?"

"Maybe they do. Maybe the owner made a deal with them that if Jun was kept for their work, they get a sum of money?" the archaeologist shrugged.

"Maybe we should keep that for safe keeping," the Chinese researcher handed the card to his friend, who put it in his coat pocket. "This might come in handy later."

"Okay Jade, back to your punishme—," Jackie looked up to find Jade gone. The door swung close, making a low thump.

"Agh," he smacked. He turned to Captain Black. "She's gone again."

"You're the guardian here. Not me," the Section 13 captain smirked.

"Jade is just...just...," Jackie tried to make do with his hands to describe Jade's behavior but all that resulted was Jackie's hands flailing around helplessly.

"I told you she was a handful. Instead of picking fight with her, try having a regular conversation that doesn't lead to Section 13 or the M-word," Captain Black had gotten used to using that term to describe magic.

"Yes, I've never had much trouble when dealing with the M-word," Jackie replied with a roll of his eyes."

* * *

"The girl took my card. Somehow she knew about ZIK Inc,. and you. I got distracted and threw my knife at her hand. I think she started bleeding, but I didn't really notice because I ran away before she threw a lightning bolt at me. And that's my story," Jun finished. He stood shamefully in Kimikaz's office telling his story on why he lost his verification card. He said this because he was afraid of getting in trouble. Luckily, he wasn't. The businessman appeared to have blue veins across his forehead because of the sunlight coming in from the windows. He sat upright in his chair, his hands no where to be seen. He smoothed his hair and sighed.

"This girl shot **lightning** out of her fingertips? Is this some kind of joke or are you doing some kind of drug I'm not aware of?"

"No! I _swear_ she shot lightning and fire and light and stuff! It. Was. Freaky!" Jun exclaimed, his eyes wide. Kimikaz kept his doubting expression painted on his face.

"And do pray tell, what was the girl's name?"

"Um, I think her name was Amiah...Mariah...Delya! Yeah, that was her name. She was with this girl named Jade, their uncle, this sumo guy and the archaeologist Jackie Chan. Didn't really see him but you could guess he was because I heard the Jade girl mention him so many times," Jun nonchalantly shrugged. Kimikaz pulled at his collar upon hearing 'Jackie Chan'. This was the second time he had heard the researcher's name and he was beginning to get antsy really quick.

"'Jackie Chan'? Archaeologist and works at a museum?" he cautiously asked.

"Yep. And Delya was there too," Jun said. The worried look from the CEO's face disappeared and turned into annoyance.

"Delya was there? I thought she was de..." he stroked his beard as he looked over at his employee's confused face. "I didn't know Delya had connections with the Chan fellow. I might need to talk to her later on if I see her. How does she know about me and this company again?"

"Delya said Lola and Tân somehow spilled the beans. Believe it or not, this actually makes me mad because now we're in risk of getting caught by the police," Jun clenched his fists. He was flushed with anger, not to mention that this was Jun's first time having a similar rant with his boss. "I don't want to go to jail! I'm too young!"

Kimikaz chuckled loudly and placed his hands on the desks. "Now you finally understand my struggle with Tân. Lola is a different story. For some reason, she happens to get pretty snappy with me when I ask her to do small tasks. I'll talk to them. You can go," the executive nodded his head to Jun. The teen turned around and began to walk out of his office. He turned around again to see Kimikaz nodding his head with a grin.

"I'm glad you're now starting to see things my way. That's very good for me because I know you're growing to be a mature young man," the businessman beamed. Work was a lot easier when his employees saw things in their boss' perspective.

"Thank you, sir. Before I go, may I get a MicroTalk?" the adolescent asked.

"There's no need to. Lola is busy right now, but she'll be back soon. One of the rooms on the third story going up from the bottom floor should belong to Lola. It'll have her name on the door. Right now, Lola's out with the Ice Crew looking for Drago,"

"Hunh? The Ice Crew? Did I miss something while I was gone with Tân?"

"Remember the demon dragon we summoned not too long ago? He escaped."

"He escaped?! When was this?" Jun raised his eyebrow. He felt jittery all of a sudden.

"He's not hiding in the building, is he?"

"Drago is nowhere near us, which is bad. I know he's somewhere in San Francisco because before he left, Tân left him with a nasty bruise and a scrap. By now, one of the bruises he got must be infected of some sort already. I wanted Drago because I think he can help find with the jewel search," the executive brewed over his mistake

"Ohhhhh. So you're bringing in the Ice Crew to help. Um, who exactly are they?" Jun raised his brow.

The businessman sighed as he squeezed the area in-between his eye sockets. Yes, he was creating a liking to Jun but the young man asked a lot of time consuming questions.

_Where does your mind wander to when I explain important information? _the executive pitifully shook his head.

"The Ice Crew is a trio of teen boys about the same age as you who got sent to prison during the big meteor shower a few months back. They claim to have had some ties with Drago and Delya in the past. They also claim that the big meteor shower wasn't a meteor shower at all: it was actually Drago taking his reign over the Earth with elemental demon chi," Kimikaz explained. He was sure he had told Jun about them before, but clearly the teen didn't listen at the time.

"Demon chi? Hmph, pretty powerful stuff," the young wizard understand nodded his head. "But dangerous too. Is that what left a good part of San Fran in shambles or was it really a meteor shower like the mayor described?"

"I believe it was the demon chi. A meteor shower that comes that randomly and quickly doesn't seem possible. Not only that, but the demon chi business also explains the rivalry of Delya and Drago. Turns out Delya helped Drago take over the world, but for some reason had betrayed him at the last minute to help the Chans put him away," Kimikaz clarified. Jun gasped.

"That lightning girl was involved with a demon?! Figures. So does this mean you want me to find her and Drago?"

"No, just Drago. You'll join Lola and the others tomorrow. Right now I'm giving you the rest you want and/or need from battling Delya and the sumo at Columbia. While I am disappointed that you didn't bring back a gemstone, I am surprised you went on head-to-head with a full chi wizard. And are you**sure** Delya shot out some kind of power from her hands?"

Jun rubbed his shirt impressively with a cheeky grin. "Well I can't go around bragging, can I? But on a serious note, yessir. I refuse to lie to you. If you had traveled with us, you could've seen it with your own eyes. You might've even felt it, if she had hit you. But they were easy, no big deal."

"Good. That's the kind of attitude I'm looking for. Now off with you," Jun strolled out the room, leaving Kimikaz on his own. He could only scratch his hair in curiosity.

"How is Delya alive? The poison of hemlock should have killed her, or at least paralyzed her forever. Err, Drago had something to do with this. He's starting to pose more of a threat than I thought. Now I'm going to have to eliminate the both of them," the businessman stared at his watch. It was 7:45 p.m.

"I think that's enough work for me today. Running a charity and an underground corporation is really stressing me out. I'm surprised I haven't found any gray hairs on my head."

* * *

"How is your injury, Tohru?" Uncle asked his fellow chi wizard.

"Sensei, do not worry about my well being. I am alright," the Japanese man managed to smile. Uncle did the same and smacked Tohru across his head.

"Ow!"

"If you are okay, then why are you so slow?! Disenchantment spell for Green Emerald should not take so long! We should be finished by now and maybe even find what power Emerald possesses!" Uncle scolded Tohru.

"I am trying to, but my injuries prevent me from doing so," Tohru countered and pointed to his arm for proof.

"Do not let that distract you! Once we are finished with spell you can talk about pain all day, just not around Uncle," the elderly Chinese man said. The mountain of a man sighed and looked down at his arm. It was covered in white gauze and was wrapped around in an arm sling. It reminded him Shendu knocking him out of the Dark Hand building. He remembered feeling the pain of many stitches, head wounds, bruises and broken arm.

_Oh, what a horrible experience then_, the Japanese man remembered how hard it was to walk around Uncle's shop without getting in the old man's way or feeling like a liability to Uncle. Of course he hadn't said it but there were sometimes where Tohru could've sworn Uncle said something similar.

"Now let's try again and this time, do not trail far behind," Uncle warned. Like a conductor, he did a little wave with his blow fish before chanting. "Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao."

"Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao," Tohru mumbled, catching up to Uncle's pace. As the light chi wizards went at it, the Green Emerald seemed to rock side to side like a boat. The dark entity coming from Samuel Long the Irish floats around in its gemstone jail, moving like water.

"Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao."

Many minutes passed and the magical struggle between Samuel's dark chi and Tohru's and Uncle's light chi continued, though the good side was winning. Part of a dark cloud was sitting on the edge of the brilliantly cut jewel, looking like gelatin. It tried to go back in, but the trail of green chi blocked its path for now the green trail surrounded the cloud and began closing in.

"Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gwaai Gwai Fai Di Zao," the good spell recital picked up the pace. Tohru's and Uncle's chi combined, looking like a snake with no head or tail. It dove into the gemstone like a person would dive into a pool. It lurked around inside the jewel. Uncle and Tohru stopped their chanting to step up to the glowing green gem. Once again, the room was filled with green chi and the light blinding the two wizards.

"Uncle, when will dark chi come out from the Green Emerald already?" Tohru covered his eyes with his left hand. Right on time, the chi flew out of the Green Emerald and disappeared into the thin air, the room wall's original white color turning back to normal.

"It is done," Uncle answered. He cautiously walked over and picked up the emerald. To him the Green Emerald felt lighter, as if something heavy was lifted.

"Perhaps we should leave the gem alone Uncle," Tohru started to suggest. "After seeing the difficult procedures behind the removal spell, maybe it is best if we do not touch the gem at all.

Uncle made a disgusted face and quickly opened his mouth to protest, but he knew his former apprentice was right. He sighed, took off his glasses and rubbed them against his shirt. "You are right. Tomorrow, perhaps Uncle will test Emerald and see what power it possesses. Anyway, it is starting to get late. Shoo, shoo," the elder man tiredly made the hand motion, signaling Tohru to retreat to his room. The Japanese man simply nodded and added a smile.

"Yes, Sensei Jiang," the large man respectively bowed.

"Uncle told you! Don't call him Sensei because you are not his apprentice anymore," Uncle stomped his foot. "And do not call Uncle by his real name!"

Tohru could've sworn he saw Uncle make a little smirk. "Yes, Uncle."

**A/N: Wow! Kimikaz is getting his murderous side back, Jun seems to catch on to his boss' evil drift, Drago and Delya are starting to argue like an old married couple and the Jackie and Jade fight still continues! So much angst, darkness, questions, anger and attitude for one chapter to hold! The good thing Uncle and Tohru have pulled out the dark spell from the Green Emerald. Only the gemstone doesn't exactly want to summon its' powers just yet.**

**I really want you guys to read this story on Fanfiction called "The Ultimate Evil" by DONOVAN94. She is writing a story that kinda centers itself around her pairing Shendu/OC. The story started in season 1 and the author is now in season 2. I think you all should read the story because it's very good for a Shendu pairing and there's not a lot of fanfictions out there that acknowledges this besides the Shendu/Valmont pairing. It's quite an interesting fanfic and I think you guys will love it.**


	19. Chapter 19

Hours later, 10:00 p.m...

"Today has been a **completely** tiring day. Errands to run, research and workers to check on, people and evidence to destroy, paperwork from two companies and making public appearances. The same boring things," Kimikaz sighed. He was standing at the top of his company building, staring at the cloudless night sky. He had just returned from the San Francisco Bay area, where he had disposed another body of one of his enemies.

"Seeing how busy I am now, I should've considered staying with Evangeline before...wait! I can't think like that! Thoughts like her and Samantha are what get me behind!" the man scratched his coal-black hair. Kimikaz had dealt with a lot of stress from the past, yet he never found any grey marks in his hair. Either that, or people just chose not to talk about it for the sake of being alive.

"Time for my nightly smoke," Kimikaz took out a cigarette from a cigarette pack. Kimikaz pulled out a lighter from his pocket and ignited his cigarette. Kimikaz took a deep inhale from the cigarette and exhaled all the smoke.

"Tonight is a beautiful night, just like what the meteorologist said," he made a genuine smile.

"Sir, Lola and the Ice Crew boys are safe in their beds," came a deep voice from a security guard. It was his MicroTalk that Kimikaz was able to hear his employee.

"Good," he responded. "Did they find any trace or sign of Drago?"

"Um, no sir. They didn't say anything but when they came in, they were wet and smelly. I'm guessing no," the guard could hear his boss' groans.

"Tomorrow, let them know that they need to speed this process up. It doesn't take long to find a dragon," the executive replied. "If he is in this city..."

"You should've let some of us go out and spy for you, boss. It's like some of us workers here have nothing better to do but guard stuff," the guy answered. The CEO coughed violently. Upon hearing that, Kimikaz had inhaled too much smoke.

The man on the other line knew the coughing only meant one thing. "Kim, are you smoking again?"

"No," the lie slipped out of the man's mouth without taking a second thought. "Why do you ask?"

"Um, never mind. While you send Lola and the Ice boys to get that dragon thug, some of us can go on a lookout too. Ya know, if we spotted Drago we call in them kids and they can catch the guy easy. Besides, why would you let kids look for a demon dragon? It's dangerous!"

"The Ice Crew are martial artists and Lola is a good chi witch in training. They'll survive against Drago. Plus, the Ice Crew used to work for him. So your name is..." Kimikaz tapped his foot.

"Harry, sir."

The CEO of the Golden Rainbow again sighed, squeezing his nose bridge. "Harry, we will have this conversation tomorrow. Right now you should be guarding your post."

"Yessir," came a droning and annoyed reply. Kimikaz shut off his device and shoved it in his pocket, pulling out his 3rd cigarette. He knew the dangers of smoking and lung cancer, but the man didn't care at this point. It was twice a week that he did this and it was usually at night, when no one was around. Not even Tân could tell his co-partner what to do.

"Speaking of which. should I have them track down Delya if they see her?" the executive put a hand to his chin, taking the cigarette from his mouth. A puff of fresh smoke from the man's mouth and nose like a waterfall.

"Yes. Perhaps I should. She could've used Drago's demon remedies to help her survive," Kimikaz inhaled again. Suddenly, the whole top of the floor started to shake.

"Earthquake again? I could've sworn we had one just two weeks ago," the executive complained. He didn't bother snuffing out the cigarette. The button on the top of his MicroTalk began to flash green. Even though the light was small, it partially blinded Kimikaz. He pressed the button and loudly sighed.

"Kimikaz! Yo Mr. Kim! Listen to me," a voice came from the intercom. It was a panicky Jun, and for the long time Kimikaz had known him it was that he never had freaked out too hard. This had to mean something important.

"Jun? What are you doing up so late? You're supposed to be in bed!" the man scolded the teen.

"Uh, that's not important! Some guys all dressed in black are in the building and—!" Jun cried out into the MicroTalk before it cut off.

"Jun? Jun, what's going on down there? _Answer me_!" sounds of crackling, glass breaking and foot movements on the other side of the device echoed. Kimikaz could hear many people screaming and yelling in fear. Afterwards, the sounds of endless bullets shooting away from the guns Kimikaz privately funded. The MicroTalk began to screech, the ears of the CEO almost turning deaf.

"Where is he?!" a lady growled in a man's ear (Kimikaz presumed it was Harry).

"I don't know," Harry whimpered with a scared sniffle.

"You **liar**!" a slap could be heard in the background. Kimikaz took this time to snuff out his cigarette butt and throw over the side of the building. This time, he didn't bother watching it fall. He ran to the door leading inside his company and ran inside. His MicroTalk was still on, trying to listen to anything else going on down there. As the boss alerted some of his workers, he noticed the MicroTalk's audio was hard to hear. This could only mean the battery was dying. The man grabbed an emergency gun from a glass display case by the door and loaded it.

"Does anyone know...?...has to be here, I know it!" the audio began to crackle.

"Wait. We shouldn't be...go after him on a personal... Besides, we're wasting so much time...could've finished that...a long time ago. Let's...go.."

"Oh alright...move out...!" the lady ordered, the sounds of heavy and clanking footsteps against the tile floor echoing through the device.

"...better be lucky..." This was the last thing that was said before the MicroTalk battery went out, the red light on top fading to black.

"Really? **Now** this .wants to die out? There's only one thing I can do now," Kimikaz grumbled as he pressed the side of the MicroTalk. The button blinked blue.

"Time for lock down."

* * *

The loud lock down alarms woke up Lola. The teen girl almost hit her head against the headboard of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair from her face.

"What's wrong now?" she grumbled.

"Yo li'l mama! Open up yo' door!" MC Cobra yelled, banging his fists on her door.

"Lola, lemme in! I accidentally locked myself out again!" Jun followed along with Cobra. Lola sighed and rolled herself out of her warm bed, hitting the cold carpet.

"Boys will be boys," the chi witch rolled her eyes, strolling over to her door and casually opened it. Once the door opened, the boys piled on top of each other.

"You guys should be in bed. And why did Kimikaz press the lock down button in the middle of the night?" Lola demanded to know.

"Bro, close the door first. Lock down say so," Ice told his friend. DJ nodded and did so. He slammed the door and used the chain to lock the door. Ice and Cobra helped each other up and Jun was the last, still on the floor.

"You guys need to lose weight. A lot of weight," came his rasp. It took him a few seconds to recover from being piled on by taking in deep breaths.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?!" the Filipina asked in disbelief at DJ.

"Boss jus' passed by and told us to check yo' room for some secret door-trap-thang," Ice said, feeling the walls for anything suspicious of that.

"Well yeah, but why?"

"Help us find the door first, then we talk. Right now, if we waste any time tryna to tell you we could get caught," Ice ordered.

"Or hurt," Cobra added.

Lola flipped her bed-head hair from her face. "Is this serious?"

"Naw dip. If it wasn't serious, we could be in our own room tryna find our own way," Ice retorted with a huff.

"Well if I recall, you banged on my door, begging me to open it with your screams and pleads. Plus, the last time I believed you on something, we all ran through a wet and smelly sewer for most of the day, looking for "Drago" as you put it," Lola air-quoted. "Why didn't you guys look for your own secret doorways in your rooms?"

Jun looked back and forth between Lola and Ice talking. "So _that's_ why you guy were all smelly and wet when you came back. You actually went inside the sewers?"

"I swear I thought Drago was runnin' through tha sewers!" Ice defended himself. "Wouldn't have been the first time he'd done that."

"As for tonight, we went out to get something to eat and we all forgot our keys because we thought we didn't need them. Plus, we wouldn't know about the trap doors and—." Cobra explained as the sounds of a latch door opening up echoed around the room. It was DJ, who was under Lola's bed. He poked his head from underneath and nodded to underneath the bed.

"What are you—? _Get out from under my bed_!" the young chi witch demanded. "All of you are acting so crazy!"

"Looks like our man DJ found us a trap door!" Ice clapped. "C'mon li'l mama! Give me boy some props fo' dat quick find. And he did this all without yo' help." DJ smirked as he went under the bed, not bothering to come back.

"We'll congratulate DJ later. Right now, we needa go before they catch us!" Jun whispered, his ear on the door.

"No wait! I need my slippers!" Lola made a move for her bedroom shoes but was stopped by two hands holding her back.

"Girl, there's no time fo' dat! Let's go!" Cobra pushed her towards the bed. Reluctantly, the Philippine got on her knees and rolled under her bed.

"Whatever we're doing better be worth it because you guys cost me my wonderful dream."

* * *

"Make sure you don't get into any kinds of vigorous and quick movements that use that hand. You could risk opening up that wound, ya know," Ms. Brittany waved to Delya. The young demon sat quietly on the hospital bed. White gauze was wrapped around her palm and thumb, making the right hand look as if Delya was going to prepare her hands for a fight.

"My hand still hurts. Feels like people stepped on them all day," she complained, caressing her limb. Luckily, the blood was able to dry and the doctor could clean up the wound. In a small jar, the doctor had kept pieces of the bloody green fuzz from Delya's scar.

"It sure took you a long time to fix just that one hand."

"Well you **did** squirm around quite a bit. And it's just a small amount of pain. It'll go away in a few hours, trust me," Ms. Brittany gave her armbands back to her patient. Delya took the doctors hand and shook it with the right, making her wince a little.

"Heh, still sore," she said with a nervous smile before walking out. Ms. Brittany's smile turned into a concerned frown, turning her attention to the stained green fuzz.

"I may not know much about that old geezer's magic, but I know enough to know that this is serious. That poor girl could've had a heart attack," she tsked. The hospital room door opened with Delya poking her head inside. She chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh yeah. I also forgot my bag. Can you hand me that please?" the demon dame pointed to her bag that sat on the bed. Dr. Brittany snatched the bag from the table and threw in Delya's direction. The bag strap connected itself with Delya's neck.

"Thanks doc. Again," the girl waved before shutting the door once more. The doctor giggled, holding the glass jar in her hand. She wiped her forehead.

"And to think I was so scared, I was going to throw the sample across the room. Looks like it's time to do research on my own. But I'll have to do over time."

* * *

"Oh! I see you're okay," Jackie said as he pointed to Delya's hand. She solemnly opened and closed her palm, following the doctor's orders.

"Seems so. Still, it kinda hurts. But I'll be fine," Delya rubbed the scar back and forth with her finger. "What happened to the Green Emerald anyway?"

"Uncle had just returned it to the new vault, where the White Diamond is."

"Do we know what powers it has? And did you guys do the research of ZIK Corporation?" Delya asked.

"But I thought it was the ZIK _Incorporated_," Jackie wore a baffled expression. Delya shrugged.

"ZIK Corporation sounds better. So did you get any news of our newfound enemy organization?" The young woman corrected herself. Jackie shook his head.

"Uncle doesn't want any of us to use the Green Emerald. I guess after the fiasco in Columbia, he doesn't want Jade to use it again. As for ZIK, we haven't got any news of them _or_ Jun." Delya sighed, kicking at the ground as if kicking a pebble.

"And I thought we had 'em in their tracks," she grumbled. "Not anything? Not even a picture? Article? Word?"

"Well, we did find something," Jackie answered, sounding drained. "But it's not much. Just a picture of a Jun as a kid." Delya threw back her head and groaned.

"A picture of Jun as a kid? Why would I want to see that? I can't stand seeing that little boy in real life, so why would I want to see him as a littler kid?"

"You mean a 'younger' kid?" Jackie corrected. Delya gave the archaeologist a look of disbelief.

"What? I was only trying to help."

"I can't even deal with any more bad news tonight. I think I'll just go and take tomorrow off," the demon turned around to leave.

"Wait, what if another gemstone reveals itself?" Jackie asked with a worried tone.

Delya gave Jackie a two-fingered salute while she walked away backwards. "You're Jackie Chan, archaeologist, researcher and super-secret agent of Section 13. You can handle it," she laughed as she disappeared around the corner. As of now, she had total time to herself.

"And now, when I get home I have to deal with an even bigger pain in the butt," the young demon face palmed. "Times like these are the times I need someone like Aunti to talk to because I know this is going to be a loooong night."

* * *

"I told you let me get my slippers! But _noooo_! Apparently I could waste** five seconds of my time** just to make a quick run so this wouldn't happen!" Lola pointed to the mess in front of her. The teenagers had reached the long stairwell that led to the first floor. There was dirt and rocks that were lying on the tiled floor (which were just cleaned), boot marks, stray pieces of glass and bullets, unconscious bodies lying on the floor. It was as if a tornado had torn up floor to floor. It was also dark, only the light from the moonlight could be seen from the broken windows.

"I should've brought my flashlight or my chi weapons too," she mentally kicked herself for not listening.

"Stop yo' complainin'!" Ice snarled.

"Okay okay! I should've listened to you! Happy?" Cobra rolled his eyes. "Dis is nothing. Me and the boys lived in a junkyard with D-Man fo' awhile."

"And you did walk through the sewers," Jun chimed in. "Compared to that, this should be nothing."

"I'll make you walk through the whole **sewer system **in San Fran if you don't stay outta dis!" Ice snarled and pointed at Jun.

"Jus' chill home girl and keep 'em lips quiet! The more you talk, the more them guys find us! I ain't about to lose my life tonight!" Cobra said.

"I don't know why I hang out with you guys, but my decision stays. DJ will be willing to carry me across," Lola jumped onto DJ's back. In confusion, he looked up at her, then to his friends.

"C'mon. I know the back way out," Jun didn't waste time running down the stairs. When the intruders broke in from the windows, the building got hot from the outside.

"How long 'til the bottom?" Ice asked, panting a little.

"Just hold on."

The teenagers followed Jun eight more floors before reaching ground floor. Behind them, he opened an emergency doorway with a red light blinking above it. The red light was the only thing keeping the floor light up. There was a keypad on the lock of the door.

"I got it," Jun pushed his password digits. Once the digits were punched in, the door slid open. The small ground floor was now filled with the light of the moon and the light of the alarms.

"I see you made it out safely," Kimikaz stood with his hands behind his back. Taken in by surprise, Lola fell off DJ's shoulder and onto the concrete floor.

"Ouch!"

"Oh! Boss Kim, it's you! We thought you were a goner goin' in by yo'self!" Cobra nudged Kimikaz. The only thing off about the man was that his haircut was a mess, falling all over the place.

"No, I wasn't going to do that. Too dangerous. They also knocked out quite a handful of the guards," Kimikaz wiped his forehead. "To be honest with you, I thought you were done for."

"We coulda been if it wasn't fo' _Ms. Princess _over here!" Ice nodded his head to the Filipina.

"What was that you said?" she growled.

"Hey! Fighting only makes things worse! Our place got destroyed and all you want to do is argue!" Jun stepped in the way, pushing Ice and Lola away from each other. "And Lola, you should've taken this seriously!"

"Whenever we tell you not to leave your room and forget your key, you don't take _that_ seriously!" the girl jabbed Jun's chest with her index finger. Jun covered his mouth for a quick second and silently pointed at Lola.

"That is a **totally** different situation!" was all he could say.

"Different my foot! In fact, if you **_all_** had your keys, we wouldn't have to tail each other and cause so many problems! And not to mention you ruined my sleep!"

"So what are we going to do about the burglars inside, Mr. Kim?" Jun changed the situation before his fellow wizard could grill him some more. DJ was behind everyone a few feet, shaking his head at the petty conversation.

"They should be out. Did you see them at all?" the boss pointed to the exit doot.

"I thought I did a few times, but now I think it was just my shadow," Cobra admitted. This earned snickers from the gang to his honest response.

"You're afraid of your own shadow?" Jun cackled. Cobra uneasily shifted, giving Jun a look of disdain."

"Aw, shuddup."

"It seems as if the attack was aimed towards me, not the company. Looks like we have another person with a personal vendetta against me. No one was taken prisoner, correct?" Kimikaz once again changed the conversation.

"The only people we saw were the bodies lyin' on da floor and some of da peeps dat busted in," Ice pointed his thumb to the emergency door.

"Everyone should be accounted for. You said they seemed to be interested in you," Cobra added. Kimikaz nodded.

_Another person with a personal vendetta? What does that mean? _The Philippine opened her mouth to find her boss moving to another topic.

"We should get back to bed. Tomorrow, this investigation starts in the morning. We need clues, something to track down the perpetrators. But first, put the unconscious guards on the hospital floor. They need medical care immediately. And so do you," the executive pointed to Jun. "Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?"

"I'm okay. Just some few bruises and scratches here and there. It'll go away," he rubbed his slightly bruised arm. The CEO gave a hard stare to his employee, then finally nodded. Everyone had argued too much to notice the scars and dried blood all on the boy's pajamas. There were small shards of glass clinging to the pants. His hair was tangled with glass shards. His face has a mark of dried blood trailing down from his ear and left eyebrow. There was a blue bruise the size of a plum on his right forearm, which he was doing his best to hide.

"Yo wait. Who was dat other guy? Tân was the dawg's name?" Ice scratched his head.

"Tân sleeps in his own apartment. Tomorrow morning when he arrives, we will discuss what happened. Now please, you all need sleep," Kimikaz signaled everyone to the emergency door.

Lola clapped happily with a loud yawn. "_Finally_! Back to Dreamland!"

* * *

The walk back home took forty minutes, longer than usual. But Delya wasn't trying to get home in a hurry. That was the last thing she wanted to do. But she was hungry and needed a place to sleep. Unfortunately, this was with Drago. When she unlocked her door and came in, Drago was sprawled out on the living room couch asleep. From the couch, Delya couldn't see that Drago was shirtless. The dragon had covered himself in the dragon jacket he had stolen a few days before. His snores were quite loud.

"Good, he's asleep," the demon dame took off her shoes and set them by the door. She put her bag on a coat rack and tip-toed in the kitchen.

"Get away from me before I barbecue you," the dragon muttered, turned in his sleep. Delya opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a plate of spaghetti. Delya pulled out a lemonade drink with an apple along with. Even when she tried hard not to make noise to wake her housemate up, the attempts failed.

"What's going on?" Drago shot himself awake. The son of Shendu looked up and noticed Delya idly standing by the counter, staring off into space.

"Oh. **You**," he laid his head back down on the couch and closed his eyes. Delya looked over to the living room and rolled her eyes. She turned away and placed the spaghetti plate on her hands. Instantly, the meal was steaming hot. The smoke arose from the plate and the smell spread all over the kitchen.

"The feeling's mutual, _pal_," Delya snorted.

"Good. I hope so, _buddy_," came Drago's retort.

"Oh, don't give me that. You deserved that. You totally deserved that for that argument! How in** hell** did you even get my number?" Delya thought, slamming her plate on the table. Drago pointed to the phone to the right of the fridge and smirked.

"The house phone."

"Well, you're still not supposed to call me unless it's a true emergency. I thought you were trying to hide from them, not allowing yourself to get caught!" the demon dame scolded Drago.

"I was _trying_ to tell you that I needed you to get me some more clothes and you blew up from there. Not my fault you get so mad easily. What were you doing at Section 13 that you come home at..." Drago looked at the clock on the wall. "...almost midnight?"

"If you want to argue at home, fine. Go crazy popping blood vessels. But don't talk to me on the phone. That's off limits. And whatever you do, do NOT break anything, do not break anything or I will make you pay for it." Drago rolled his eyes at the statement. It rang irony to the fact that he didn't need money.

"I had to wrap my arm up in gauze so it would stop bleeding. If you had cared enough, you would've noticed the white on my hand and worry," Delya took out a fork and began scarfing down her food. "Hey, did you know that there was green stuff in my veins?"

The son of Shendu looked up. "Say what?"

"I forgot to drink water and this green stuff—I think the hemlock—were in my blood vessels. I checked out with a doctor and she said it was pretty serious," Delya took a break in the stuffing of her food to take in a breath of air.

"You **forgot** to drink water?" Drago raised his voice. Delya couldn't see his expression, but she could tell the dragon was pissed off. "You mean you **"forgot"** to listen to my instructions?"

"It's just..."

"Is traveling around the world with Chan more important than your health? And why would you take the situation up with a _human_ doctor? Tell me; what will a _human_ do to help cure a demon of a plant poisoning?" Drago asked in disgust.

The young demon bit her lip. "The best she could do was take the little fuzz thingies out. Dr. Brittany then numbed my hand and did all this other stuff and wrapped my hand up," Delya explained. The demon dame could feel the crimson eyes of Drago pierce the side of her head. He sat up and looked at the right hand, noticing how carefully the doctor had wrapped up Delya's palm. It still didn't impress him.

"Okay, Angry Dwarf. And what did you do to your shirt that you just _had_ to call me?" the demon dame set her fork and began drumming her fingers on the table. Drago laughed softly. The son of Shendu enjoyed whenever Delya was frustrated or angry.

"It's Grumpy Dwarf, genius," Drago corrected. Delya made an aggravated sigh, making Drago laugh some more.

"When you left, I washed my shirt in the washing machine. That thing made it two sizes smaller," he tossed his small shirt to his housemate. It landed on the kitchen table and slid over to where Delya ate her dinner. Drago laid back down on the couch.

"Go on. Laugh your little head off," he continued.

"This. Is. **_Hi. Larious_**!" the demon dame didn't waste any time cracking into laughter. The son of Shendu wished to hide into her couch, but could not do so.

"I knew this would happen," he grumbled. Delya could've sworn a few trails of smoke go upwards from Drago, but she didn't care.

"_Oh god_! Oh man, lemme catch my breath!" she held her hands up in the air while doubled over.

"Are you done laughing because I'm not laughing?" the dragon snarled. Delya still ignored him, if she could hear above her own laughter.

"Drago, how...how could you let...how could you shrink your shirt so small like this?" Delya cackled, holding up the shirt. "A five year-old could wear this for a Halloween contest! Seriously, it's cute," a thought occurred in Delya's mind, making the laughing stop. "Wait a minute. This is the only shirt you own and you're giving it to me. That means you're _shirtless_," the thought of Drago being half-naked clouded her mind. Delya blushed and looked away, gently setting the shirt back on the table. She covered her face with her gauze hand.

"Yes and no," a slightly embarrassed Drago rubbed the nape of his neck. "I don't have a shirt, but I'm wearing a jacket for a cover up. Without my shirt, the heat was somewhat bearable. Besides, only you would think about something like a man not wearing a shirt."

Delya felt the heat grow in her face, spreading to some parts of her body. More embarrassing images piled in her head. She placed a finger on her lip. "Ha! You wish."

"So then how'd you get the idea in your head? One minute you were cracking up and the next you're thinking about my muscles. While I thank you for caring so much, that's a little weird. Well, at least weird in my book."

"Yeah, you'd know all about creepy, Mr. Pervert," the demon girl said, finishing her plate.

"I'm going to choose to ignore that."

"Sh-Shut up!" Delya took the shirt of the table and threw it back to Drago. "Have it. I'm going for a bath."

"Why would I want the shirt back if it's two sizes smaller?!" Drago called after her.

* * *

_"Aunti? I can't sleep. Can I come in?" Delya croaked._

_"Alright. Come in," came the hearty voice._

_Delya pushed open the large door to Aunti's room and closed it behind her. It was exactly midnight, according to Aunti's clock. For some reason, her room was much bigger than how Delya remembered it. Most of the space was empty. The elder woman smiled and patted the space beside her, making room for her niece._

_"Come sit on my bed."_

_"Aunti, you're _**_alive_**_? You're living again?! Whew, I _knew_ this all had to be some big and stupid dream. I need someone to pinch me. You _are_ alive, right?" Delya exclaimed, then covered her mouth. How the situation escalated from there made Delya gasp. Aunti chuckled._

_"What happened that night? Where did you go? Did people gang up on you? Who were your killers?" the questions that were in Delya's head for days barraged out of her mouth._

_"I'm afraid that's all classified information, my dear. I can't say," Aunti shook her head in a pitiful manner. Delya crossed her arms over her chest and frowned._

_"'Classified'? 'Can't say'? Are you some Secret Service because I don't understand why this info is "classified". I thought we weren't allowed to keep secrets in this family?" the young woman reminded her guardian/aunt. She shook her head._

_"How come you can't answer even _one_ of my questions?" Delya pleaded. If she didn't get any answers soon, she would burst into tears._

_"I know we aren't supposed to keep secrets, but I can't say anything. Not right now." Delya looked around. Aunti continued. "Honestly I'm not supposed to even be here. I could get in trouble," the chi wizard looked anxious. Delya did the same, but with a look of doubt._

_"I'm not seeing anyone here with us. Even so, they must be __really__ stupid to come into a house with a good chi wizard and a demon."_

_"Not in the room. Like...like...eh, it's complicated," the African waved off the thoughts running through her head. "If I tell you, you might freak out and let the info slip out on accident."_

_"What kind of information are we talking about?" Delya cocked her head to the side. Aunti did the same, then wiped her brow. _"_And I don't let stuff slip out _on accident_. My mind is like steel; it doesn't break."_

_Aunti rolled her eyes at the statement. "That's what _you_ think, honey. OK, they're gone. We're safe to talk a little freely now."_

_"Huh?"_

_Aunti grabbed Delya by her shoulders and lightly shook them for emphasis. "Delilah, listen to me. A very evil man is after those gemstones you, Jackie and Section 13 are looking for. Under _NO_circumstances can you let him get them. If you do, he'll take over the world and everything will end up being a disaster."_

_"Like we don't know that," Delya rolled her eyes. "Now what's this evil man's name? Is he your killer?"_

_"What I can say at the moment is that you should watch your back 24/7. Be careful who you trust and where you go. _Never, ever_ let your guard down. He may be trying to kill you now that he knows that you know me. In the morning, I want you to report everything to Captain Black."_

_"I can't. Once we saw the evidence that you were dead, I guess he doesn't want me to go crazy looking for your killer. If I do, I can't say anything or he'll suspect I'm doing the case behind his back. Then Black'll fire me," the demon shrugged as she crossed her legs. Aunti put her hand to her chin and stared off into the distance._

_"This is not good. This is not good at all," she finally said. "I have to alarm somebody. Ah! _**_Uncle_**_!" she snapped her fingers. "If _you_ can't, then Uncle or Tohru can."_

_Delya shivered and held her arms close to her. She knew that there was no cold draft in the room. "Aunti, what will happen to you? Will I ever see you again? Is any of this even real?" tears stood on the brink of Delya's eyes. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. Aunti got out of her bed and quickly brushed herself off, taking a quick glance at the time. She looked out the now open window of her room, then back to her niece._

_"Wait a minute! Where are you going? I just got to meet you!" Delya shivered some more, rubbing her arms for warmth. "This is scaring me."_

_Aunti wiped the tear from her eye and smiled weakly. "I know you need me, but I have to go. If I stay any longer, I'm going to get caught," the African elder sighed, opening the door. It filled the dark room with light, light so bright it could blind Delya if she was a human. The light wizard ran out and closed out behind her. Once the door shut, all vision in the room blurred and wavy._

_"Hey! I can't see anything!"_

"Wait! Don't go," Delya mumbled, tossing and turning in her bed. Finally, she sat up and looked around, finding herself in her own room. The demon took in a deep inhale and let the air out of her nose. She let a hand rush through her curly hair.

"Just another dream. Just another dream that felt _too_ real," she murmured to herself. After she had taken a quick shower, Delya went straight to bed. She didn't wait for Drago to follow behind. It was 3:30 a.m. and this was the second time Delya had a dream about her guardian in the same night.

"This is getting ridiculous," she mentally rolled her eyes. Downstairs, Drago was fast asleep, his deafening snores echoed throughout the house.

"I need to tell somebody," Delya hopped out of bed. She speed-walked down the stairs, trying not to make a sound. It was hard to make a sound loud enough when Drago snored.

"Drago? Hey Drago, wake up," Delya softly touched Drago by his shoulders. He didn't respond.

"Drago." The demon dame called a little louder. In response to this, Drago inadvertently blew his smoke in Delya's face.

"I don't suffer traitors well," he moaned.

"Oh come on! Drago, get up!" she placed a firm punch to the sternum.

"Who's fighting?!" he shouted, looking around. He touched the place where Delya hit him and glared. "You didn't need to do that."

"Yeah, now you know how I feel whenever you "playfully" punch me in the shoulder," Delya made a small smirk. "But I had a dream."

Drago huffed out another of smoke and turned over so his face was in the couch pillow. "So what? Everyone has dreams."

"No, I mean like two dreams in only a few hours."

The son of Shendu yawned. "Yeah, people have that too." Delya growled and balled her fist.

"Drago, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" she placed her hands on her hips.

"_What_ do you _want_ from me? I'm listening to what you're saying and having two dreams is not unusual. It's just brain waves. Everyone, every demon does this I'm sure."

The hostess pinched the area between her eyes and sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have come to you."

"Just talk, I'm listening," Drago brought his hands behind his head. "Describe the first dream."

"The first dream Aunti was waffling with me in the park. It was sunny and there were no clouds in the sky. We were having a conversation about I-can't-remember-what when this snake passed by in front of us."

Drago was silent, his eyes remained closed. "What color?"

"It was a mix of black and red. When Aunti saw it, she jumped on my shoulders and screamed for me to turn around. She said it was impossible for me to walk around that snake without her fainting. When we got out that park, there was this large black SUV that came from around a corner and followed us. Usually, I would've detected if the car was big trouble before it came around, but I didn't. It was Aunti who knew of the danger. She ran ahead of me and told me to follow. When I asked why, she didn't answer and instead into a crowd of people. When the crowd vanished, all I saw was Aunti's clothes, necklace and a pool of her blood. I woke up from there," the woman grabbed her knees nervously.

"Alright, now tell me the other dream."

"This one was harder to remember because everything was blurry. It was exactly midnight and I couldn't sleep. I went to Aunti's room to sleep to talk when I remembered she was supposedly dead. This made me think all reality was a dream. When I asked her what happened, she couldn't tell me because the information was classified and thought I would let the information slip."

"You **do** have a big mouth," Drago shifted in his bed.

"Oh shut up! If anyone has a bigger mouth than me, it's you!" Delya bounced the retort back. Drago mentally rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you're so right," Drago said, letting his sentence drip with sarcasm. "Continue."

"Where was I….oh yeah! Then Aunti started taking about how I should be careful around people and my surroundings. Aunti described how the guy was after gemstones and some other stuff. I think she says she was going to tell Uncle and Tohru the information, but then she left. From there, the dream became fuzzy and I woke up. So whaddya think?"

"Just letting you know now, I'm not some kind of dream master or interpreter, so I won't know the meaning of your dreams. That's too much work in my part," Drago moaned and rubbed his eyes.

"Just tell me your opinion_ puh-lease_?" Delya clasped her hands together in a prayer motion. Drago drew out a long sigh/yawn.

"Well maybe you're thinking about Aunti too hard. That's why you're having weird dreams, mainly involving something bad happening to her."

"No. I'm always busy doing other things, so by the end of the day she's the last thing on my mind."

Drago understandably nodded, thinking up another question. "Tell me more about the snake. This** I** wanna hear about."

"The snake I'm taking about seemed…different. Supernatural even. Like a demon snake," Delya moved her hand like it was a snake.

"Nagas? Those half-snakes?" Drago opened one eye.

"Yeah! Wait, no. This snake had this oval-shaped hole in his head. The hole was large enough to place some kind of magical object in it. This snake had the eyes if. It kinda looked like a stinger."

Drago closed the eye. "Dimples, snakes have their poison in their teeth not the tails. Now if it's a scorpion you're talking about..."

"I know that! But I'm still worried. Maybe Aunti's dead spirit being is trying to communicate with me," she nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

"It _could_ be possible. Then again, when dead spirits come back from the dead they usually possess someone and turn that person . Has dreams like this happened other than tonight?" the son of Shendu yawned. It sounded as if he was about to drift back to sleep.

"The night you came to my house was the first dream I had seen Aunti. It was that night when I had heard of her death by Captain Black. That one was weird because it was like I was in this dark, gravity-less pit. I heard Aunti's voice talking to me and her voice was mixed in with some wind that blew by. I don't know where the currents came from."

"Do you remember what she said then? Or did you forget that too?" Drago weakly smiled. Delya blushed with embarrassment.

"I forgot most of the dream. I think she said 'someone's coming to get me' and she screamed and I woke up," Delya clutched her knees.

The dragon-turned-human stroked his goatee and yawned once more. "Is it 'you think' or 'you know'? Those are two different things. Oh wait, let me guess. You forgot about that, like you forget about me telling you important information. You're just pulling parts of what you _think_ happened."

"Well, yeah because I didn't think about the dream like that. Plus, I get busy during the day. I have better things to do than worry about stupid dreams. The last dream was when I took a nap or something. I was talking to Aunti about something like me not fitting in with most humans or something. Aunti explained to me that I'm different than most demons and are not destructive, so I shouldn't worry about not fitting in. The person I should worry about not fitting in with is herself," Delya smirked and put her hands on her lips. Drago could practically taste the pride off from Delya's posture.

"What did you think about that? I remembered that dream okay, didn't I?" he gave the demon dame a thumbs up.

"What, were you expecting some sort of prize just because you remembered a dream? There's medicine for stuff like that, ya know."

"Unlike you, I didn't want to become some kind of lab animal where I test out all your poisons," Delya huffed as she placed a hand on her hips.

"They aren't poisons!" Drago reassured, his voice gets low. "They're _herbal medicines_. It would help you a lot if you actually took the time to use them. Now get to bed. We have a trip to the mall to go to tomorrow and I refuse to be late because of your screwy sleep schedule."

Delya was smirking away, hiding herself so she couldn't see Drago's face. "Sounds like someone's ready to take a trip to the mall. I thought you despised all human-made things."

"Oh shut up. I need a human disguise so I don't get caught by you-know-who. That's it. Nothing else," Drago snorted a cloud of soot in Delya's face.

"Alright then: you tell me. Why are you still wearing that dragon jacket? It came—er, was **stolen** from a store, wasn't it?"

Drago got quiet and pursed his lips shut. He paced his hand over his heart, which is where the picture of where dragon's head rested at. "Because dragons are my thing. Is that a problem,_Forgetful_?"

"Oh no. Just checking,_ Mall Boy_."

"When will you learn how _or _when to shut up?" Drago's eyes were fully open and his tired expression also said 'unimpressed'. It looked as if he was been glaring up at his hostess. Delya giggled, trying to hold in her laughter with a hand over the mouth.

"When you learn how to respect others, like when I say don't call me Dimples."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I HAVE RETURNED! Seriously, that month-long writer's block was really tiring. I was lost. And it wasn't just that. Real life and my schoolwork stopped me from writing, so I have to take a break for a while. As an apology to you all, my faithful readers, I have given you all an _super long_ chapter. Now, I won't have to worry because I'm on Spring Break for awhile. Yay for me! Like I said, this chapter was a pain to write but I know I enjoyed it and am super proud of it. Read away!**

"Did you **have** to wake me up super early in the morning?" Delya yawned. She was in the kitchen with her head down. The noises of the sizzling frying pan and the blares of the TV filled her ears. With noise like this, it was inevitable for Delya to have peaceful sleep. Even though Delya wanted to go back to sleep, she knew what she had to do. "I'm so tired. I need to go back to bed."

"Stop complaining. If you don't want a naked dragon running around in your house, then we're going to get me some new clothes. The _legal_ way," Drago rolled his eyes. He threw on a clean, white tank top and then his dragon sweatshirt. The tank top made Drago look more decent and human. "Besides, it's only 11:00. I'm just as reluctant to go to a mall as you, but I'm not about to let myself get exposed to Tân, the Kim guy and their whole operation squad."

"Fine, don't have to get snappy about it. Besides, you are an early bird kind of person. I am not, so I have reasons to complain. _Many_, in fact," Delya rolled her fingers through her hair. She could feel the headache pounding away on the top of her head. The only thing she could do was pat it softly.

"You ready?" the son of Shendu crossed his arms impatiently. Delya nodded sleepily and grabbed her keys and small, sling purse.

"C'mon, lemme take you to the garage," the demon responded in a croaky voice. Delya walked through the laundry room and opened a door beside the washing machine.

"I forgot how the garage smelled liked fresh tires," Delya took in a deep breath. She had enjoyed the scent. Drago took in a deep whiff and began to cough violently.

"How could you forget something as strong as _this_?"

"Maybe because what you usually smell is brimstone, sulfur and smoke. I mean, you **are** a dragon."

"Enough with the jokes," Drago pressed a button, and then watched how slowly sunlight filled the dark room. Delya bit her lips and took a hard stare at the car in the middle of the garage. Drago twisted his goatee and made an impressed smirk, nodding his head as he inspected the car by the visible inch.

"Your car's got a nice touch," the dragon admitted, nodding his head. He swiped the windshield and inspected his fingers for dirt and got quite a lot of it. "Your car's looks nice, but needs washing. How long have you had it?"

"It's new and it's not. The car's technically old, but Aunti and I didn't use this car as much. We preferred walking. To her, walking was another way for exercise. At first, I didn't like her idea but then I became used to it. Soon, I forgot we even had a car," the young woman shamefully placed a hand on the passenger's window and stared at the floor. Drago didn't have to look at Delya straight on to notice the sad and robotic monotone to the story. He cleared his throat and knocked on the door to the driver's side.

"Can you open the car up already?"

"Oh **no.** No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You are _not_ driving."

"What?! Why not?"

"**My** keys, **my** car," the demon dame jabbed a thumb to her chest. "So that means** I** drive."

Drago snatched the car keys from Delya's hand and frowned. "So what makes you think that you can drive? The last time I willingly volunteered to teach you to drive was a _dis-**as**-ter_. You almost killed the both of us. No wonder your aunt didn't want you to drive," Drago leaned against the car door. Delya snatched the keys back and held it beyond Drago's reach.

"That was last time. What about the other times before? And if you've forgotten, this is my house. I could make you walk if I wanted to," Drago snatched the keys from Delya's reach and placed it in the air.

"Hey, I was pretty good at driving a garbage truck back then, so driving a simple SUV is a piece of cake. Remember how I taught myself how to drive? I wouldn't scratch it or do anything severe to it. While you drive, you would completely demolish this beauty like the other times, am I correct?" Drago smirked and leaned down to Delya's level. She simply blushed and pushed her hair in front of her face.

"Well, you know what? That's a bunch of BS right there," she nervously chuckled. "Alright. You win. You get to drive. But please don't burn it up or do anything completely stupid. If Aunti was still alive, she would kill me."

"I always get my way," Drago grinned.

"That's sentence is like the last thing you drove: full of garbage and so much more."

"You mean that garbage truck I tricked out?" Drago opened the driver's door and didn't hesitate making himself comfortable in the seat. Delya stepped in the car from the passenger's side. "The red one with the flames on the sides?"

"There is no other old garbage truck in San Francisco with that lame design," Delya shook her head in pity and shame. Drago's nose flared slightly.

"I can't wait for the day you lose your voice," he muttered as he put the keys in the ignition and turned them. The car made gagging noises before the engine finally started.

"Just note that that won't happen. As long as I'm alive and breathing, I have the complete freedom to say whatever I want."

Drago made a mischievous half-smirk. He looked behind himself and pulled the shift lever into 'Drive'. From there, Drago began to pull the car out of the garage and onto the outside driveway.

"Trust me Dimples. You don't know what I'm capable of."

* * *

"I can't believe my money is being squandered away because of a simple break-in as we speak," Kimikaz massaged his forehead.

"Define 'simple'," replied Tân. He and his co-partner Kimikaz were in Kimikaz's office. Luckily, the room or any other on that floor wasn't damaged. The men were thinking about the next action that should be taken.

"Face it. These burglars got you right under your nose and you were unprepared for the attack. And you were doing what, I don't know. Was anything stolen? Secrets, data, some sorts of objects...?" the elder chi wizard. The businessman rubbed the tip of his nose and made a frustrated sigh.

"They didn't catch anything that can be exposed to the public?"

"If you're looking to point the fingers, I'll have to know that I won't accept the blame. Now is not the time to be putting blame upon others. We ought to be finding some way to track down the people who broke in. Did I mention that these thieves said they were aiming for me? They didn't want anyone else _but_ me. I heard them beat a guard up for info on my location at the time," Kimikaz scratched his hair in conclusion.

"Kim, think back to the many enemies with henchmen, goons and workers that want to kill you. There has been numbers your enemies hanging around lately. Maybe someone you failed to kill is still alive. Maybe it's that person—or people, who's trying to turn your tables," Tân questioned further. He was well aware that Kimikaz was a murderer, killing his opponents and dumped their body off somewhere.

"Then again, you usually kill your enemies once they step upon your turf," Tan played with his goatee.

"Yes. That's probably about half of them still alive and waiting for me to crack up."

Tân shook his finger to his partner and clicked his tongue. "I'm serious. Be more careful next time. Now, this break-in is on the local news, so you will have to be careful. Now reporters and paparazzi will be monitoring your every move,"

"So then what do I do?"

"Just lay low for a whole. But what are we going to do about our workers? Are we going to locate Drago?" Tân crossed his arms over his chest. Kimikaz places a thoughtful hand to his chin and made a low hum.

"Maybe the break-in was ordered by Drago. He would probably hire them and once the job is done, reward them. By now, his injury must be long passed healed."

Tân followed along his partner and nodded, then slowly shook his head. "Yes, that could happen. But usually demons aren't too fond of humans, so that's an—"

Kimikaz held his hand up to stop his partner mid-sentence. "Ugh! Analyzing all the probable motives of every sort of opposition isn't exactly fool-proof. At this rate, when we actually do find the person who had broken in, the police will already have sued the criminals."

"And what about this Delya? Maybe she is behind—"

"No. She's simply too clueless to know about my workplace, let alone know what I actually do. Delya couldn't possibly know about where I live or get that many amount of people to scare me," Kimikaz dismissed the thought. He pulled out a stack of business papers with a spare business card on top. He picked it up carefully and took a good look at it.

_"Again, it's no trouble," Kimikaz waved it off. On the concrete, Delya picked up a business card that was gold covered. It read 'Golden Rainbow._

_"Golden Rainbow?"_

_"It's my business card. I'm the president of a charity."_

"Wait a minute. She **does** have an idea about where I work," Kimikaz said as his eyes began to get wide. Tân watched as the blue veins slightly appeared on his partner's head.

"So what if your business card is one of a kind? What does this have to do with the break-in?" the annoyed chi wizard rolled his eyes and shifted his weight on his cane.

"It does have a lot to do with it. When I met Delya on the sidewalk while coming back to work, my business card dropped from my pocket. She picked it up and kept it in her pocket. Later on, when her aunt was reported missing, Delya came to my office and asked me for help. She does know about our office—well, only the Golden Rainbow section."

Tân held his chin and slowly nodded his head, carefully taking in what Kimikaz was saying. "You did say she went upstairs because your secretary Taylor let her, correct? She must have done a little—or a lot, of wandering around on the upper floors while we weren't around. I thought you said Delya was dead? Didn't you give her the hemlock I made?"

"I _know_ I did. I saw that girl drink the cup bottoms up. I'm figuring Drago must have used some of his dragon remedies to help her because Delya is still alive. She must have found out about the hemlock poisoning and wants revenge on you. Maybe she has discovered the secret of the company and its' workers," Tân twirled his cane around his arm then caught it with her hand.

"Alright then. Looks like we have another enemy in ZIK Inc.'s hands," Kimikaz pressed the button on his recharged MicroTalk. "Lola? Lola, come in?"

"Yeah?" the girl immediately replied.

"I have a new order for you and the boys to do while you are out..."

* * *

"Behold the local San Francisco mall, where you shop 'till you drop and eat 'til you fall asleep!" Delya said with her hands in the air joyously. An unimpressed Drago walked a little further past Delya to take a good look at what was going on around him.

"Mm. It's alright, I guess," the son of Shendu shrugged. The mall was quite loud and filled with teenagers talking and walking around. A few boys on skateboards blew past Drago almost making him fall over.

"Come back here! Rotten kids!" the security guards said, calling after them with his nightstick. He bent over to take in some deep breaths before running after them again.

"Those kids are gonna pay for that," Drago held up his hand and let his fist be covered in a steam of smoke. His eyes began to flash crimson red.

"No you don't! If people see who you actually are, then you're gonna get busted," the demon dame grabbed his fist and covered it with both of her hands.

"Absolutely no fire magic here or we're going straight back home. Got it?" Drago removed his fist from Delya's hand and gave her a scowl.

"**Yes Delilah**. Is that what you wanted to hear me say?" he rolled his eyes.

"Calling me Delilah is _not_ going to ruin my day. Now c'mon, let's go and see what store you wanna shop from first," Delya pushed Drago along.

"But there's nothing here that impresses enough to buy," Drago whined.

"C'mon, it's our first five minutes at the mall. Don't worry; I know the perfect store to take you to. It's just up the escalator," Drago's eyebrows burrowed, giving Delya a confused expression.

"The what now?" The young woman instead dragged Drago's arm and began to fiercely pull him to the escalator. "How about instead of explaining it to you, I can just show you an escalator and watch as it takes you up to the next floor?" Delya made the way ahead of her.

"How does this work again?" Delya giggled and held her mouth.

"Just step on one of the steps and the machine will take you up. You have to get on quick though; you can fall and seriously hurt yourself. Now stop wasting your time talking and let's start with the program already!" Delya pushed Drago on the step of the escalator and she took the step behind him, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"You didn't have to push me!"

"You were taking too long," Delya responded. Drago wasn't doing anything, for he noticed the escalator was beginning to pass the halfway point and get to the second floor.

"Now what do I do to get off?"

"Literally. Just step off onto the tile of the second floor and keep moving. **Really simple**." The dragon did exactly what Delya said, taking the step off the machine with stride.

"Well done," the demon girl mockingly clapped her hands. "You've just mastered the escalator, one of the easiest, yet the hardest-looking machine ever to master."

"Shut up." The demon pointed to the many stores around them. "Now where to first?

"Straight up ahead. They have the best deal on men's wear," the store in front of the duo read 'D Crew' in red letters that was outlined with white. Drago barely had a chance to look at the sign before Delya forced him inside.

"How convenient."

"Say what?" the woman was already busy picking out a sweatshirt hanger and putting it on her arm while picking another sweatshirt. She looked up and noticed how awkward Drago was standing behind her with his hands in his pocket. He was looking in the store mall, staring at the men's clothes hanging from the racks.

"Hey, don't just stand around," she said, leading the dragon to a full rack full of men's shirts. "Pick some clothes out and try them on. And while you're at it, there should be a fitting room somewhere around here. Find one and try these sweatshirts on and tell me what you think," with that, the girl dumped the pile of clothing into Drago's arms. The son of Shendu took a wild look at the pile, then at his housemate.

"Are you kidding me? You want me to try on all that? It's way too much!" he exclaimed. Drago then felt Delya's hands pushing his back forward and taking him to the back of the mini-store.

"C'mon! We just started! There's going to be a whole lot more for you to try, just you wait and see."

"I regret coming to this place," Drago groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"Would you rather be here or in the Netherworld with the rest of your messed up family? Do you really want to give up the life I'm offering to you to a life of imprisonment?" the demon dame questioned. She had stopped Drago at the entrance of the mini-mall. The demon dragon sighed and let a puff of brimstone smoke release from his nose. Delya gasped and quickly punched Drago in the arm.

"You better not do that again," he warned, taking a step back. Delya took a quick look behind to see if anyone was paying attention. Luckily, they weren't. "Remember what I said earlier when we first got here?"

"Whatever..."

"C'mon, _say it_."

Drago let a low growl die down in his throat, shoving his hands into his pocket. "Absolutely no fire magic or we're going _straight_ back home," the son of Shendu said in his best imitation of Delya. It sounded quite good, good enough to annoy Delya. She shoved Drago towards another full rack of clothing and pointed at it.

"You better get in there and start looking 'cause we're not leaving unless you pick up something good," came the young woman's order.

* * *

"He's **gotta** be here! I know it dis time!" StrikeMaster Ice stamped his feet and he took a look around his surroundings. The Ice Crew, Jun and Lola were also in the San Francisco Mall, standing inside near the entrance.

"Yo, you said this th' last time and you r'member where you got us?!" MC Cobra crossed his arms and turned his nose away from his friend.

"Bro, I _know_ D-man's here! I saw him and another girl walking inside the mall."

"And the other girl was..." Jun lead the sentence off. Ice shrugged and made a face.

"How should I know? Couldn't really see her face." Jun made a face palm and dragged out a sigh.

"So you couldn't see her face."

"Well..."

"Ugh! How can we make _progress_ when we're just standing here and arguing like _children_? I swear we do this every time!" Jun pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I don't see baby J ova here makin' any suggestions, so back off my boy a'ight?" Cobra balled his fists and glared at Jun.

"You're lucky we're working together, otherwise I'd—!" Jun snarled.

"Hey guys!" Lola called in from the MicroTalk. The device whined and made a shrill pitched sound.

"Ah! My ears!" Ice crumpled to the tile floor as he covered them. "What was that? Wait a minute..."

"Where'd l'il mama go? One minute she was here and the next she's gone," Cobra looked around.

"That's because I'm not with you guys, duh. While you guys were talking, I went off and decided to look for this 'Drago' guy on my own," Lola explained. She was already on the second floor of the San Francisco Mall, walking around. She was surprised no one had noticed.

"And who told you to run off without us?" Ice crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You guys were taking too long. Besides, if we all go on our own and search the mall for Drago, then we can find him faster. Plus, we have our MicroTalk's on. All we have to do is signal everyone else once we're sure we see Drago and that other girl you were talking about?"

"How did you hear that?" DJ pointed to his ear and nodded his head.

"We. Have. _Micro. Talks_."

Cobra combed through his purple hair. "I guess I see what Lola's saying. So the minute we see Drago, we alert the others and decide to meet up at a point and jump him."

"And what if we don't know the mall like that?" Jun questioned.

"Then the person who found him will follow him into the parking lot or somewhere secret, jump him and the girl. It's simple," Lola explained. The Ice Crew was about to part their ways when Jun stopped them.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Stop right there. Are we actually going to jump the other girl? And we don't even know anything about her?" Jun waved his hands in a quite frantic manner. The Ice Crew exchanged confused looks and in unison shrugged.

"Maybe not exactly beat her up, but like shoo her away," Cobra slightly winced. "We're not exactly hurting her...unless she doesn't listen to us."

"For all we know, Drago might've moved on from Delya and gotten some other demon girlfriend who looks like a human," Ice added.

"And what if this girl was just a regular human who knows nothing of the world of magic? Would you really risk exposing the demon, girl and even _yourselves_ out to the public? Remember, the people don't know—"

"Don't know what?"

Lola was standing still in a mini-store, staring intensively at a TV. The TV showed the news and she could tell that the news being displayed is recent. There was an older man on the news, reading off the paper in front of him to the camera. On the corners of the television showed mugshots of Ice, Cobra and DJ. The boys did not look too happy as they held up their prisoner numbers.

"It looks like it's happening once again. A trio of bad boy fellows has broken free from Hollowlands Penitentiary, similar to what had happened two years before. Three young men, Michael-Cristiano Costa, Damian Suarez Soto, and Dwayne Miller escaped three days ago. Due to police, it is unclear how the young men escaped since "things don't add up." Now there is a released surveillance video that shows to be a man and a young girl helping them escape. Their method appears to have been using green dust to get the three adolescents out of their prison cell."

The Filipina was mesmerized by what she saw on the small television in the top right corner of the room. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was covered in front of her face. "I didn't know I'm on the news..." she whispered, embarrassed by the news report on the television.

"Just as the prison guards come running to check what is going on, the group of five disappear. The only thing that is left in the cell is pink flower petals that are covered in the same green dust. The two unknown assailants that helped Costa, Soto and Miller get away are assumed to be the boy's friends. The many questions remain standing as is. 'Is this real or just some kind of late Aprils Fools' Joke?' Meanwhile, the state of California has Costa, Soto and Miller under their Most Wanted List. The police have requested that if anyone knows about this case, they should notify police ASAP."

"Yo Lo, what happened? What were you saying? You said something about people not knowing what?"

The teen girl quickly cleared her throat. "Looks like you guys are on California's Most Wanted List for the escaped criminals."

"Say wha?" Ice burrowed his brow.

"When was this?" Cobra coughed out.

"You guys totally got busted," Jun made a small snicker. Luckily, no one was able to hear that.

"It's not just that—remember when Kimikaz and I released you from jail? Well now, they're looking for the two other people that helped you guys escape. I'm _basically _a criminal," Lola groaned. She wished that there were a chair nearby so she could sit down.

"It's okay. It's really nothing. No biggie," Jun said in the most soothing voice he could, trying to calm his friend down. He was praying in his head Lola wouldn't suffer some kind of mental breakdown.

"**Yes biggie**! I'm a good person. I shouldn't be wanted on the news. I should be in the shadows. This can't be happening to me," the girl put her head in her hands in embarrassment. Without looking, she was pretty sure people were staring at her.

"You're making this a big deal. The more attraction you spend wailing on yo'self, people will start to overhear you and start to be suspicious. Now keep looking for D-man!" Ice whispered/scolded. "'Cause fo' one thang, I ain't about to go back to Hollowlands."

* * *

An hour and thirty minutes later...

"Hm, this actually looks nice on me," Drago said as he held up the article of clothing. Delya nodded in approval.

"Any kind of clothing with a nicely drawn dragon is worth buying," Delya sarcastically replied and rolled her eyes. In one arm, Delya was carrying three bags full of clothes and the other arm held two bags with clothes. In one hand, Drago carried a bag of men's hygiene products and in the other was a bag of shoes.

"Is that all you're going to do all day? Complain about why I want to buy because of it's design?" the son of Shendu asked with a tired expression. Delya cleared her throat as she whipped her head to face Drago.

"Ahem! What I buy for you. You're broke, so you have to depend on me to get you what you want."

"You're broke too. You're using your aunt's money to buy this stuff for me."

"And you better be grateful for the money too. I really don't feel like going back and forth between home and the mall—" Delya stopped and let a chill roll up and down her spine. The bags hung around the girl's arms fell to the ground.

"De? Delya?" Drago said. The demon dame turned around, eyeing the mall in a suspicious manner. She slowly picked up her bags and began putting them back on her arm.

"Was that your sixth sense thing?" Drago raised his eyebrow. Delya bit her lip nervously and nodded. She rubbed her forehead in a nervous manner, looking left and right.

"Yeah...it was."

"What was it trying to warn you about?" the son of Shendu questioned. Delya drew out a long sigh and gave Drago a doubting look.

"How many times have I told you the sixth sense thing doesn't work like that? It doesn't tell you what it's going to happen—just alerts you," she snapped. She didn't even have to finish her sentence to notice how quickly Drago's shoulders had tensed up. She shook her head rapidly and put a scolding finger in front of the dragon boy.

"Don't you even _start_! We are in public and unless—"

"_Unless what_?!" Drago roared as Delya covered his steaming hot mouth. The audience that stood around the demon duo gave them strange looks. It even caught the attention of a few bodyguards who were standing around.

"Is your boyfriend okay?" a female bodyguard asked, pointing her nightstick at Drago. Delya blushed and nodded.

"Oh yeah, Drake is _totally_ okay. He just has a fever." The woman exchanged looks with the male bodyguard.

"People get fevers in the summer time?"

"Well yeah. Every once in a while," the man nodded. "Don't you?"

The police walked away and the audience stopped staring at Delya and Drago. Drago shoved Delya's hands off him and gave her a flat look. His lips were pursed together and the red pupils in his eyes seemed to flare.

"You got lucky this time," Drago rolled his eyes and stared off behind Delya. Then, his eyes went wide.

"Oh God. Not now," he said, mixing German and Chinese curses together.

"What?" the girl tapped Drago on the shoulder as he inched away from her. Drago didn't answer.

"Don't you hear me talking to you? C'mon! Tell me what's on your mind," Delya hissed. Drago slightly turned around once, then faced forward.

"Don't look behind you but I'm pretty sure I see DJ Fist lurking around," he whispered, covering his face with his left hand.

"What?! Where is he?!" the girl almost shrieked, resulting in a sharp elbow in the stomach by Drago. It wasn't too hard, but it was hard enough to Drago to shake some sense into his housemate.

"I thought I said not to look behind you," the son of Shendu growled. Before Delya could protest, the human/dragon gripped Delya's shoulders, leading them away from DJ. Behind them, DJ looked as if he was looking to buy something, going in and out of stores. The hard and stoic expression the young man wore did not change from Drago and Delya's memories.

"What's going on?"

"Don't make any contact. Just pass through and don't look them in the face," Drago advised as he pushed her along.

"What's wrong? Don't want your past to catch up to you or are you afraid DJ might get his friends?" Delya could only ask. It wasn't meant as an insult, just a curious thought. "I mean, we all were...er..._okay _with each other. I won't exactly say all those times were good times..."

"It's called 'Saving Our Skins'," the son of Shendu described. "I'd rather not see them again, especially not here. I'm at a great disadvantage here, thanks to **some-**one."

"Well **sor**-ry. I'm trying to save your life so you don't get caught by ZIK Inc. again."

"Is DJ what your sense thing picked up?"

"It's just called a sixth sense. I would've thought you would know by now. And the chill was moderate. It wasn't too small to ignore and it wasn't too big to sweep me off my feet," Delya looked over her shoulder to see if DJ was looking their way, and luckily he wasn't.

"If we can walk faster and get the hell out of here, we don't have to see DJ," Drago was able to drag out. "I'm pretty sure if the big guy is here; his friends aren't too far behind." Delya covered her mouth and began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Drago snarled.

"The fact that you're afraid of one guy alone—a human—is hilarious," Delya laughed. "And look, there's the door." The duo found themselves standing at the great distance from the entrance door of the mall to where they were.

"We have all the bags and the clothes I bought, right?" the demon dame checked all five of the bags around both of her arms. Drago was still carrying his four bags, but still did not seem bothered by the heavy luggage.

"I'm only carrying four bags. There's nothing else for me to hold."

Delya held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, there was no need for attitude there."

* * *

Lola stepped out of the large children and playground area of the mall and took a deep breath. "How can so many kids stop a nineteen year old?" she muttered out of breath. In the past hour and thirty minutes, Lola was pretty sure she had gone over the whole mall twice as she searched head for Drago and 'the other girl'. Lola was actually happy she could do this by herself. She knew Jun and the Ice Crew were only people slowing her down. To Lola, that's what the boys were good at.

"I wonder why Drago would want to go to a human establishment such as this. Wouldn't demons like him hate places where humans like us hang out at?" the Filipina thought, placing her hand on her chin. "I hope I'm right about the other girl being a human. This girl probably doesn't know Drago is the son of the great dragon Fire Demon Sorcerer, Shendu. They could be boyfriend and girlfriend," the adolescent contemplated. This is something Lola tended to do quite a lot; thinking to herself. It didn't have to be loud or quiet to know that Lola had gained this habit. That would explain her quiet and shyness.

She had passed the food court on the first floor and took a great look around. _If I don't find some sign of Drago, I'm officially giving up and getting out of here, whether the boys are with me or not._

The girl took two steps and noticed something was off. The smell of the mall had changed, turned from hot popcorn and other delicious foods to the smell of ash and brimstone. It had stung her eyes.

"Smells like a volcano about to erupt or something. Or a dragon. That means Drago must be close by now," Lola said as she reached for her MicroTalk. She pressed the button on top and began talking.

"Hunh? Wassup?" Ice asked with the sounds of serious munching. "Who's there?"

"Why does it sound like there's a lot of food in your mouth—never mind. I found Drago...I think. I smell his trail, but I can't exactly see him."

"I see him," Cobra tagged in. "I just came from the third floor and I see Drago and his buddy makin' a beeline for the exit," he noted.

"Same here. Just came from the elevator and some lingerie store," Jun noted, having his eyes on his target.

"What were you goin' in a lingerie store?" Ice asked, the annoying noises of chewing stopped.

"I was just walking through it. You're acting like I want something from there," the shaggy-haired teen face-palmed.

The Filipina slapped her forehead and she sped up her gait. "Doesn't matter. We gotta block off the main exit!"

* * *

"Finally! We get to go home!" Delya smiled.

"Don't get so giddy yet..." Drago warned her, and his advice was right. The demon duo was only a few feet away when they noticed a small girl standing idly in front of the exit doorway. The girl had black sunglasses on.

"Why is that girl standing there like a fool?" Drago pointed. Delya glared up at him.

"Maybe she's lost her parents, or she's just shy coming into a big place like this," the female demon rolled her eyes. "Let's just ask her what's up."

"Or how about not?" Drago said. Delya didn't listen to them, for she has already gone over to talk to the girl.

"Are you shy to come in or did you lose your parents?" Drago was the first to say. Now it was Delya's turn to elbow Drago in the stomach.

"Ouch!"

"Excuse his attitude. I don't know what's wrong with him," Delya waved her hand in front of Drago's face. "What Drag—_Drake_ meant to say was what are you doing standing by yourself in the mall?"

"Can you please move out of the way so we can leave?" Drago snapped before receiving another elbow from Delya.

"Ow!" he cried. "**What?!** That little girl is standing in front of the doorway and won't move! I'm really close to doing that myself," the son of Shendu pointed to her. Her head was down and her body was slightly hunched over. Since Delya and Drago were feet taller, they couldn't see her face.

"Excuse me, miss. Can you please not stand in the way of the exit? My friend and I have to leave. I just finished buying this friend so many clothes. In fact, so many clothes it's going to take a lot of money for him to pay me back," the demon dame said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, but you don't remember me?" the girl figure croaked. Delya took a step back and raised her eyebrows. She cupped her chin and slowly shook her head.

"Umm, no. I've never seen you a day in my life."

"And we don't care either," Drago added. He then pointed to his housemate, who was close to giving him an elbow to the stomach. "I swear if you hit me one more time, it's on."

"Maybe you'll remember me if I do this," the girl lifted her head and removed the sunglasses she wore. This revealed light and piercing green eyes, which stared straight into Delya's soul. She gasped.

"What's so surprising? I still don't know you," Drago nonchalantly shrugged.

"Your girlfriend does," the girl pointed at Delya.

"Yeah, you're that brunette girl back in South Africa when we were looking for the White Diamond!" Delya pointed an accused finger at the girl. "Why do you keep following me? What are you even doing here? And Drago is definitely not my boyfriend, get it? **We. Are. Not_. Dating_!**"

"Actually D-Girl," another voice said from the left. It was Ice's voice, who stood with DJ behind him. "Then, the question is what are you doin' wi' D-Man if you're not datin' 'im?"

"No no _no_. I should be asking why you guys are out of prison. Didn't you guys get some sort of adult sentence back at Hollowlands Penitentiary?" Delya pointed at the boys. Drago was taken aback and gave Delya a look. "And aren't the police looking for you?"

"I want to know what's happening here," Drago shrugged his shoulders. "Who are you and where did you even come from?"

"And we want to know how and why Drago escaped ZIK Inc.," Jun and Cobra were on the right of Delya and Drago. Jun was the one talking as he pointed an accusatory finger in Drago's direction.

"I don't know brunette's name but Captain Black told me the other boy's name is Jun Shields. Both—actually, all five work for ZIK Incorporated, I'm pretty sure."

"In other words, the organization who tried to take me in," the adolescent demon clenched his fists. His nostrils began pumping out some heavy amounts of smoke and his hands turned fire red. He was angry enough to punch something, but knew Delya wouldn't agree.

"D-Man, we know it's you. We've seen you in your human form befo'," Cobra pointed out with a smirk as he crossed his arms. "You can't hide and you can't run from us." To the left stood a defiant Ice and DJ, the right had Cobra and Jun and the center contained Lola. The exit was now completely blocked.

"Great. Now what do we do?" Delya gritted her teeth and managed to whisper to Drago. She put all nine shopping bags in a bigger bag. She hooked the heavy bag around her arm and sighed. "We're at a disadvantage because of all the shopping bags. We can't make a scene, so we're probably going to have to run for it."

"And how is **that** going to work?" Drago grumbled, keeping his crimson eyes fixated on Lola. Delya backed up, letting the boys and Lola come closer to them.

"Admit it demons; you're surrounded. You have nowhere to go. Surrender to ZIK Inc. before the five of us force you into submission," Lola took out her drumstick. Jun had his pocketknife safe in his pocket and slowly reached his hand towards the weapon.

"Yeah. You wouldn't want me to mess up your other hand, do you?" Jun taunted with a wicked smile. Delya took a quick glance at the gauze-covered hand before glaring at Jun. She was busy helping Drago too much to notice her hand. The two backed up some more, feeling more helpless by every step.

"It's either now or never," Drago hissed. The demon girl felt the pressure of the situation and started to sweat. She felt the pressure weigh in on her shoulders as if they were tons of bricks sitting there.

_C'mon Delya! Think up something before you get captured and probably kidnapped._

"Hey look! Someone is having a sale in the middle of the parking lot and all their stuff is **_COMPLETELY FREE_**!" Delya exclaimed the last words the loudest, making sure everyone around her and beyond heard what she said.

"We ain't stupid De-Girl," Ice smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. Delya returned the sly smile.

"You don't have to be."

"Free stuff?!" a few girls looked up from the social media phones to call out.

"_OUT OF THE WAY, DUDES_!" The reckless, skateboarding teen who almost ran over Delya and Drago cried, almost running Lola over to get to the parking lot. In just a matter of seconds, the people of the mall followed him. This caused them to almost to run into the ZIK teen workers standing by the door.

"Get out of the way!" Ice cried, pulling his comrades out of the way of traffic. As he was doing that, Drago and Delya had already dashed off.

"Okay, what are we going to do now?" Drago asked. The shopping bags were still in the demon duo's arms as they fled.

"Since I've been to this mall many times before with Aunti, I know there's more than one way getting in and out of here. All the way on the other end is another exit, but we have to pass some stores and obviously a bunch of people to get there," Delya said.

"The plan is that we branch off and take our own separate ways. Whoever gets to the car first will wait for the other to come. Then we'll leave."

"How can you issue such a plan as this when I don't know this place as well as you do?" Drago crossed his arms in a disappointed manner. From the stands, Delya picked up a map of the mall. She took Drago's hand and placed the brochure in it.

"While you're running away, use this map as a navigation guide. Technically, you're the quicker one because of your dragon chi. You'll be at the car before me. You know I'm not a good runner," Delya swiped her brow. Suddenly, a green and dark blue chi blast narrowly passed Delya and Drago's heads.

"Now I can contribute to the plan," the dragon placed his hand on Delya's shoulders. The quick distraction Delya made was stopped and people were starting to come back inside. "I'll handle Ice, Fist and Cobra. You take on the other two losers—what were their names?"

"Lola and Jun?"

"You take the chi wizards and I'll take the Ice Crew," Drago turned his back to Delya, only for her to spin him back around.

"What are you thinking?" She scolded him. "I can't let you take on those three alone. The last time you did that, you...you...you got hurt. You could've died!" Delya jabbed Drago in the chest with her finger. Drago swiped it away.

"So you actually do care for my well-being. For a second there, I thought you were going to start taunting me based on the mistakes I've made in the past," he lightly chuckled. Delya blushed and rubbed the back of her neck in a shameful manner.

"It's not like that. You were seriously hurt then. Besides, the people are starting to come back," the girl carefully placed a hand on her housemate's shoulder. "Drago, trust me on this one. You're going to get seriously hurt."

"And what about you? You're facing not one, but dark dark chi wizards!"

"Only one is a light chi wizard."

"Like that makes the situation any better than mine. One good and one bad wizard are coming after you. Are you going to be okay?" the demon dragon placed a hand on his worried friend's shoulder. Though he would never admit it, he appreciated Delya's concern for him. Besides the Ice Crew before their big shift, he never had anyone truly care for his well-being.

"Dude! I've dodged wizards like these children before. No big deal," Delya shrugged in a confident notion. Drago made a mental eye roll at that.

"Okay then," the son of Shendu simply shrugged. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, letting out all the pops in his neck. He smiled, his teeth flashing at the opposing side. "If you can handle your wizards, I can handle my former henchmen. Same difference."

"Are you sure? If you want me to handle your former goons, I'll do it," Delya turned her back on Drago, about to run.

"Trust me on this one."

"Are you two lovebirds done with the kissing and making out with each other yet?" Cobra took his hands and began using them to kiss each other. "You guys probably shoulda kissed g'bye."

Delya walked over to a nearby jewelry counter and effortlessly lifted the bag onto the counter to a cashier. "Since you're the cashier closest to the exit door, can you please hold this? I don't know where a shopping cart is around here and I recently had surgery on my hand, so I'm afraid to hurt it again."

"O-Okay," the bug-eyed man stiffly nodded.

"Thank you so much. I got to go. I will see you somewhere from thirty minutes to an hour," Delya nodded. To avoid further confrontation, she ran off in the opposite direction. Cobra stepped out to run after them, but Lola stepped in front of him.

"As Drago said, we'll go after the girl. You guys take on Drago. You can do it!" Lola gave the boys thumbs up, running past Drago.

* * *

"And what is it now, Cobra? Does this question have anything to do with Drago?" Kimikaz rolled his eyes as he tapped into his MicroTalk. He was sitting alone in his office, playing with his pet snake, Nagi. The Eastern Indigo snake was midnight black and blended in quite well with his master's clothing color. It was quite hard to determine what was part of the snake and what was just the suit. Nagi made a dangerous hiss near Kimikaz's MicroTalk, making a hiss that would allow for Cobra to hear the serpent.

"Yo, this ain't a question," Cobra grunted. "And I didn't know you had a pet snake."

"What are you doing?" the boss asked.

"We finally found Drago." Kimikaz shot up from his desk and hooked his pet around her neck. Nagi reacted to this by licking his master's neck in contentment and began to squirm.

Kimikaz covered his mouth, taking in a deep breath. "What's he doing now?"

"Now? Fighting us," came the deadpan reply.

"**What**?! Turn your MicroTalk into full screen camera so I can see what's going on."

"How do I do that?" Cobra cried out. There was a great crash and shatter of what sounded like glass. Kimikaz cringed and Nagi made the implication of a cringe also.

"Just press that same button you use to turn the MicroTalk on and hold it." In a matter of seconds, the machine on Kimikaz's desk boosted to full screen, a picture on an angry Drago appeared on screen.

"I see," the CEO said, taking out his phone and taking a picture of the human Drago.

"Ow," the teen rubbed his head to clear away the pain. Kimikaz quickly took out a pen from his drawer and paper from his pocket and opened it, writing on the paper furiously.

"Let's see. Drago has visible muscles, is that black with green dyed ends?" he squinted his eyes at the angry dragon.

"Yessir."

"Black with green dyed ends, pointy teeth, red eyes," Kimikaz noted. "Drago's looks to be in tip-top shape. I see his injury has long since healed." Though he could not see what was going on, Kimikaz could tell that the reason why the camera was shaking was because Cobra was the one that was injured and not Drago.

"Add super strength, speed, agility and some fire power, chief," the purple-haired teen noted. Kimikaz silently nodded and wrote away on his paper. He clicked his pen and looked up to notice Drago using his martial arts to fight Ice and DJ. He wrote 'martial arts' down as a skill. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"I don't think so." Nagi hissed and bobbed his head up and down slightly, as if he liked what he was saw on the MicroTalk screen.

"Whatcha gonna do, boss man? What's with all the notes on D-Man?" Cobra wondered aloud.

"I'm recording what he looks like because now I have a sure fire way to track down Drago, even if he is in his human form. Say, what happened to Lola and Jun?"

"They after De-Girl."

"De-Girl?" the executive raised his brow.

"I'm talkin' 'bout Delya, yo."

"_Delya_ is with Drago?!" the executive shrieked, pounding his fists on the desk in panic. "Are they fighting you five together? Are those two dating or something?"

"No. D-Man and De-Girl made some sort of plan and De-Girl ran off. Lola and Jun are after them, I think," Cobra scratched his head. He chuckled. "De-Girl and D-Man deny datin' each other, but we all know they lyin'. They used to play this game wit' us back when we were playin' the chi hunter game a few months ago, like I toldja 'bout befo'."

"Are you _sure_ you can handle fighting a demon? Drago looks dangerous," the businessman looked in Drago's fiery eyes. He felt immediate sweat soak his skin. Even though Drago wasn't directly staring at him, Kimikaz felt worried for his own self and safety.

"Tch! Ma boys fought off D-Man befo' and we beat 'im. We got this. We got 'im last time since he had no fire power and by what I'm seein', D-Man cain't use his fire chi now," Cobra answered with confidence. Kimikaz touched his beard in contemplation.

"So you're at the San Francisco Mall?" he finally was able to ask.

"Yessir!"

"While you're there, find a way to distract Drago. Distract him and make sure you don't get caught by the police in the process. You're still wanted by San Francisco's police, remember? I saw the day of your escape from Hollowlands Penitentiary on the news. I have to say, I am surprised to find out that the security cameras had caught video of Lola and I rescuing the 3 of you."

"Oh yeah!" the teen agreed. "Lola saw it too and she was kinda freaked out. I think she was gonna cry there for a second."

"Hmm, I'll have to have a talk with her later. Like I was saying, distract Drago and make sure no one suspects on you at all. As you do that, I will gather every available agent out there and gather them at the San Fran mall. Bring Drago outside. From there, Tân and I will take Drago hostage from there and bring him back to ZIK Inc."

"Hol' on," Cobra cleared his throat. "What 'bout De-Girl? What should we do wit' her?"

Kimikaz cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had forgotten about Delya. "Delya, hunh? Since she's now an important part of my plan—"

"How is _De-Girl_ important to us?"

"Let me finish, for I will explain that to you once you get back. Since Delya is now an important part of my plan, you five will just bring her to me. It doesn't matter if she is awake or unconscious, just bring the girl to me," decided the boss. Nagi curled his tail and placed the end of it on his master's face, feeling the hair on his chin. In satisfaction, he stuck his tongue out a couple of times, the organ licking up on Kimikaz's fresh Italian Cut business suit.

"I'm still not getting' what we're gonna do wit' De-Girl. She ain't all that special, ya know?" Cobra said. Kimikaz began chuckling softly, then burst out into a full-on laugh.

"What's so funny yo?" the CEO turned off his MicroTalk once Cobra said this, taking it off from his ear. He shoved it in his desk drawer and sat back down.

"Oh my god, that was hilarious!" he almost doubled over. Nagi slithered off Kimikaz's desk and coiled up like a rope, burying his head in his long and slender body. The boss lightly ran his thumb against the snake's black scales, soothing the domesticated animal as he slept.

"Hasn't anyone told Delya not to get in other people's business or did she forget all that Evangeline has taught her? That Delya, she's funny alright. She actually made me laugh that hard. Oh, 'De-Girl' will finally get what she deserves for getting in business she's not supposed to. Has Angel ever told her out there, it's a dangerous world?"

**A/N: Kimikaz has a pet snake named Nagi. I like him. He's pretty harmless, don't worry. **

**C'mon guys! I know you're out there reading my stories. I see the view count. Don't worry; I don't bite! I just need more reviews/favorites/follows from you (as the audience) so you can tell me what you think of Gemstone 9 and maybe help me out some by giving me suggestions. (Suggestions are welcome by the way. You can send them to me by reviews and PMs) It's weird how half of them are only guest reviews while the other half is from SNOWFLAKEODESION. Thanks a lot by the way for your reviews.**

**Also, check out some of my art I made on DeviantArt. I did it to draw some of the characters that are in this story and for you all to see what I envision what my OCs look like. I'm thinking of adding more later on in my Spring Break vacation. Just go to my profile page and find the link there**


	21. Chapter 21

"Are we really gonna do this? Because I'm warning you now. You will be lucky to leave this building with second-degree burns," Delya pointed at Lola and Jun. They had blocked her from both ends. This left Delya in the middle and with a frantic, trapped feeling inside. She tried backing up and looking around herself but there was no possible way out, not without the chi wizard catching her first.

"We'll leave with third-degree burns if it means bringing you in," Jun punched his hand in his palm.

"Well, I definitely don't see a police badge on you," Delya tapped her foot._ I better do something fast... _she thought.

Lola and Jun shot out their chi weapons at the same time, trying to squish Delya in the middle. She turned around and jumped out the way, lucky enough to land on her feet. She stomped on the tile floor, sending a short pulse of electricity surge through the tiles. Lola and Jun yelped, dropping their weapons and falling to their knees.

"That hurts!" Lola whined. She could still feel the small shock surge through her body, but it wasn't enough to cause her too much pain.

"Are you alright?" Jun scratched his hair. This earned him another shock to his hand and hair. "C'mon Lo, she's heading into that shoe store."

"But I've noticed something," the adolescent girl attempted to speak up. This earned her another groan from Jun.

"We don't have time to talk," he shook his head in shame for his friend. "We gotta go after that girl—what was her name again? I keep forgetting."

"You said her name was Delya when you were telling Kimikaz, remember?" Lola reminded her friend.

"Oh yeah. Look, there she goes! Now we got to find a way to distract her from running." Upon hearing this, the Filipina slowed her running pace as Jun sped up. "I have an idea."

"And those losers are still gaining behind me!" Delya threw back her head and sighed. "At this rate, I'll never find a way to get out of here!"

Delya turned a sharp corner behind a shopping counter and dived under it. "Just fold it tight."

"Now he can't catch me," Delya looked behind herself. She didn't notice that she passed an area with a standing sign that read 'Caution: Wet Floor'. By the time she had noticed it was too late. Her right foot slipped up and her hands flailed in the air for support. Her left foot stayed clipped, sitting under her bottom. When Delya hit the ground she found herself still slipping and getting herself wet. She had looked like a spinning Frisbee in the middle of the mall. When the spinning stopped, Delya lay on her back in a seemingly defeated manner. She was dizzy, slightly injured and dirty and now a little sick to the stomach.

"Damn wet floor," the demon dame muttered as she shook her fist. She touched her right leg and cringed in pain. "Ow my god!"

"Are you okay, ma'am? That was quite a slip you took. You didn't notice the sign?" a man that was nearby asked. People in the Delya's area then seemed to crowd around the young woman, bending over to help her up.

"I am far from okay. My leg hurts, I'm dizzy and I feel nauseous. And yes, I did read the sign. I was just too late," she replied groggily.

"Don't you realize that people, especially small children, are standing around in the mall? Where's the security guards when you need them?" a young mom scolded Delya as she held a baby, presumably a three year old, in her arms. The human female tapped her foot with an annoyed expression. It took Delya everything not to go off on the mother in the presence of a crowd.

"I apologize to you and your children for acting dangerously, trying to get away from dangerous people," Delya snapped. She pointed to Jun and Lola, who were idly standing away from the human crowd. The chi wizards gasped as they instantly froze. They weren't sure whether to fight their way to Delya or to run.

"What was that?" Jun growled. The inside of inside of the mall carried the young wizard's voice across the floor.

"I gotta run! Sorry about that!" Delya exclaimed. She pushed past the people, careful not to slip on the wet floor.

"We are not thieves. You...you stole something from _us_!" Lola shouted back. It was useless because Delya was already out of earshot.

"Let's just follow the plan and by the time we catch her, all we have to do is wait for Kimikaz to come and pick up the special delivery. It shouldn't be that hard," Jun slowly backed up.

Lola raised her brow at that and scratched her head. "You called Kimikaz?"

"Not me, Cobra. He told me while we almost blocked Delya from leaving."

"Well, it is going to be that hard," the Filipina huffed and stared at the floor. "With those freaky electric powers she got and Drago has his fire demon chi, we won't get her. Not the easy way."

"We're not fighting Drago and even if we did, we would beat him easily because we're chi wizards. Chi wizards always defeat demons; we were practically born to do so! And Delya, I guess when we take her to ZIK Inc., we'll find out what's she's made of," Jun reconciled his friend with a pat on the back.

"I swear, when she used that electric attack it felt as if it were directly coming from her, not some kind of object. You know what I mean?"

"Jun wiped the soot off of his face and clothes. "I guess so. Anyway, meet you at the destination point."

"Gotcha."

* * *

"So D-Man, ya miss us?" MC Cobra asked with a sly tone as he threw out his foot in Drago's face. Drago blocked it and pushed him back, only to have his feet tripped out from under him by DJ Fist. The human-disguised lizard fell on his back, hitting the tiled floor with a thud.

"Augh, my shoulder," Drago groaned. DJ brought his foot down on Drago's chest, stopping the dragon from recovering. Drago's arms were the only things that kept himself from suffocating.

"Put the squeeze on our former boss. Now D-Man knows what it's like ta have yo' lungs crushed," Ice appeared over Drago.

"You're lucky we're in public," the son of Shendu wheezed. "If I could only turn into my dragon form, I would've burned the three of you in ashes in three seconds."

"And you lucky we ain't gonna kill ya either," Ice clenched his teeth as he picked up Drago by his collar. "We real tired of all tha BS you put us through when we were looking for demon chi. We coulda killed you, but we ain't gonna...this time. We handin' you to Mista Kim." With this, Ice, DJ and Cobra began to lift Drago up with ease.

"Kim, the dragon was more powerful than I thought..." Drago heard MC Cobra say.

"Get OFF!" the fire-breather opened his mouth to let out a puff of fire. Ice shrieked and let go of Drago, Cobra fell on his back and DJ punched Drago in the middle of his chest in a bad-reflex move. With the heavy hit to the sternum, Drago stopped his fire breath and began coughing wildly. He took in a deep breath as he struggled to sit up.

"That's definitely going to leave a mark," Drago glared at the Ice Crew. While Cobra and DJ were ready to attack again, Ice was shaking his hand.

"My hand, yo!" the short blonde hollered.

"Don't let 'im get away!" Cobra cried.

Drago grabbed a nearby table and stood up, holding his aching chest. Nonstop smoke fell from Drago's mouth and nose. It was lucky for Drago that no one was around to see the fight in the store.

"I should've listened to Delya in the first place," he breathed, holding his chest. He sat down in a long chair, only to stand straight back up when he saw the Ice Crew coming in his direction.

"Oh yeah, listen ta yo' girlfriend," Ice snickered. "That's all you good for."

"To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't ask De-Girl's advice for tryin' ta take over da world." Upon hearing this, Drago's eyes flashed red and his hands began to smoke. His hands were beginning to melt through the plastic of the table.

"Where'd she go anyway?" Cobra raised his eyebrows as he took a good look around his surroundings. Ice pointed to Drago and pushed his friend back a little bit. DJ quickly got in front of the two and blocked them with his arms. He returned Drago's nasty growl with narrow eyes.

"I'm not going to kill them. I'm not going to kill them," the son of Shendu repeated in clenched teeth. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. DJ noticed the slight throbbing veins on Drago's neck and eventually backed up.

"I don't r'member seein' D-Man dis mad before," Ice cringed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe we should head out already."

"Naw man! What will boss Kim say? He's gonna be _pissed_!" Cobra frantically shook his hands and head.

"What?! Who told you to call 'im?!" Ice clenched his fists. "We're gonna get in even more trouble now dat you told 'im!"

"And if we don't, we get in trouble. It's a lose-lose!" the skateboarding teen argued.

"You're not going anywhere until I rip all **three** of your hearts out of your chest and make you eat them!" the fire-breather let the smoke roll out of his nose and mouth. He marched past the partly-burnt table and was heading in the Ice Crew's direction. "I'm going to make sure you don't leave this place alive!"

DJ was the first to run off, not even thinking of looking back. Ice looked back and forth from the back of DJ to Drago.

"Yo DJ, wait up!" Ice hollered as he and Cobra didn't waste time running away from the angry dragon.

Drago cracked a small toothy grin. "You can run but you can't hide!"

* * *

"How much longer until we get to the mall?" Kimikaz asked as he looked at his watch. He was sitting in the driver's seat of his company's van with his personal driver Johnathan sitting beside him. Behind the executive was many men armed with weapons strapped behind their backs. The men were suited in blue and black uniform and to their right section of their chest, 'ZIK' was written. Their faces were covered in black helmets with the logo 'ZIK' written on the front.

"If we have almost no intruding traffic as of now, I would say five minutes. Do you have your weapon, sir?"

"Yes, I do. You have yours also, correct?" Kimikaz asked his driver.

"Yes."

"And the men in all three vans are ready to trap Delya and Drago are easy, correct?" Kimikaz raised his voice for others in the back to hear.

"Yes sir Kim sir!" the men cried in unison and stomped their feet.

"So when we get there, where would you like me to park? Or does it matter?" Johnathan looked at his boss before paying attention to the road.

"The minute the group of five calls me again on the whereabouts of Drago and/or Delya, I will let you know. Right now, I have some new friends I want you all to personally meet."

* * *

"You! Young lady! Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" a man yelled. He wore a security badge with the same imprint on the hat. The security guard carried a nightstick in his hand, ready to hit another teenager that crosses his path in the head. Delya turned around and cringed. She didn't expect her running to attract any attention to the people. 'Adam', the security guard pursed his lips together.

"Young lady, you need to stop running in the mall. People have reported to me that you've been playing some sort of game of hide-n-seek with six others here. Is this true?" Adam crossed his arms. The demon dame threw her head back and drew out a long, frustrated sigh. "Really?"

"Yes really, or would you have me arrest you?" on the side of his belt, Joseph opened a case that revealed a metal pair of handcuffs. The girl took in a deep breath and made a mental eye roll.

"Yeah I was. But I have a—" Delya protested.

"Ma'am, there is no good possible reason for you to be running in a mall full of people shopping. You can get yourself and others around you hurt. How old are you anyway?" the older adult asked.

"Twenty?" Once again, Delya had to lie. It was the right thing to do, so she wouldn't get in any more trouble than the trouble she was in now.

"You are a twenty year-old fresh college student on summer break, am I right?" Delya tilted her head and furrowed her brow. She lightly shook her head.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Adam shook a finger in the woman's face. "Don't play that game with me, missy."

"Well, excuse me for not exactly knowing much about college," Delya placed a hand on her chest.

Adam glared at Delya for what seemed like eternity before saying, "Come with me, ma'am."

"Wait, are you arresting me?" she eyes bugged out of her head.

"I said you're coming with me ma'am. No questions," Joseph grunted. "It's always kids around your age that goof off the most. All you want to do is party and play around. You always get someone hurt and don't even notice or care about the safety of others."

"This is unfair! I demand a lawyer or something!" Delya stomped her feet.

"If you keep talking, I'm going to have to arrest you."

"Ha! Karma came back and bit you in the ass!" a laughing voice said from behind the security guard. It was Jun, who had doubled over and was shaking with laughter.

"That is the funniest thing I have ever seen in quite a while!" the teen exclaimed. He wiped his eyes with his happy tears and put his hands to his knees.

"Run along now, kid. I have to take your friend away now," Joseph pushed the demon away from him.

"Go right on ahead, officer!" Delya's eyes sparkled with anticipation seeing the young wizard.

"Would you let that kid get away so easily if I told you he was one of the people that I was playing a game of extreme hide-n-seek tag with?" she grinned. Joseph looked behind him at Jun once, then back at Delya. He looked again, this time letting go of the sharp grasp on Delya's arms.

"Laughing kid! You're coming with me too!" upon hearing this, the young dark wizard immediately stopped laughing.

"Yes you. Don't act like you're going to let your friend get all the blame for the mischief you've been causing!" Joseph marched over to Jun, who began backing away slowly.

"Wait! She's lying to you! I wasn't playing a game. I have a job, I don't have time to be playing!" the boy shook his head.

"Then where do you work at?" the large man put his hands on his waist and tapped his foot. Jun rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and tried to crack a smile.

"I didn't say I work here. Plus, that's kinda classified information as of now. Sorry about that, dude," Jun shrugged. His smile had disappeared and was replaced with a look of anxiety.

"Speaking of which, I do remember seeing you with that girl in the pink shirt, those three boys and that older guy with the goatee. Are you all fresh out of college?"

"I didn't go to college, so I'm not sure what you mean," Jun scratched his head.

"Never mind. I'm going to have to make sure the seven of you get in some hours of community service when I'm done with you," Joseph pulled Jun forward. When he took out his handcuffs from his pocket, Jun struggled against the guard's force.

"Don't arrest me! I'm too young for that!" he cried.

"Yeah, well you and your friends seem a little too old to be playing tag, dontcha think?"

"Ya know, you should be asking my playmates that question. Oh wait! She's not here BECAUSE YOU LET HER GET AWAY!" Jun pointed in Delya's direction. Jun snarled and rolled his eyes. He removed his arm from Joseph's grip and began jogging away.

"I don't have time for this!" the teen wizard slid out his pocket knife. The security guard's eyes almost bugged out of his head when he saw the small weapon. The officer whipped out his nightstick and ran as fast as he could to Jun.

"Stop! You're under arrest!" the police began charging in Jun's general direction.

"Aw man!" the teen cried.

* * *

The son of Shendu rolled his eyes as he struggled to bite his tongue. He felt his raging dragon fire wanting to escape from his throat. He tapped his foot rapidly and crossed his arms, looking around. He was standing in a parking lot, but not the same parking lot in which Drago and Delya came from.

"I know I'm not supposed to do this, but De won't know," the dragon boy smirked. Drago clenched his fists tightly. Suddenly, a large column of fire was ignited, circling itself around Drago's feet. The fire ring levitated up into the air. Once it reached Drago's head, it dissolved into smoke and fell. Drago's human form disappearing and his demon form was alive once again.

"Feels good to be me," he cackled. He let out a bloodcurdling roar and laughed.

"Oh Ice! DJ! Cobra!" the dragon called out in a sing-song way. "I know you're somewhere here in this parking lot." Silence. "Don't worry! I don't bite—much!" Drago spit a fire into his hand and held it up threateningly.

"I should get back to the plan but—ah!" Drago cried. DJ Fist charged into the demon's back. His face instantly hit concrete with DJ's heavy foot resting on Drago's chest.

"Looks like it's still Ice Crew 6, D-Man 0," Ice and Cobra appeared from behind his former boss. All members had a smug look on their faces.

"If it wasn't for DJ's plan of tacklin' you like this, we probably woulda died," Cobra snickered. Drago attempted to get off the ground by pushing his body up, but it didn't work. DJ's foot pushed the dragon down again.

"And where did you get six from?" Drago strained.

"'Cause they're six of us an' only one-a you. Simple," Ice answered. With the tail, Drago pushed DJ's foot off his back and flipped around. He pushed the fire out of his mouth and got up.

"Watch out!" Ice dove behind a car. The fire was lucky enough to burn another car in the way.

"Where are you?" Come out so I can watch you burn!" Drago threw his fireballs to Ice's hiding spot.

"Booyah!" MC Cobra hollered. The Ice teen jumped off a red car and landed on the shoulders of Drago. He covered his eyes with his hands.

"Yeehaw! Giddy up, dragon!" the boy snickered. Before he could actually declare victory, Drago slammed Cobra with his back to the concrete. He reached down and slashed at his chest.

"Yow!" the fire claws slashed through the fabric and touched Cobra's skin. He quickly covered his chest and wheezed as he gave a look at Drago in worry.

"Forgot he could do that."

"I bet you also forgot how I can do this too," Drago moved in on his human prey. Suddenly, the screeching sound of car tires was heard from around the corner.

"Hunh?"

The sound of vehicles sounded louder and louder as they came closer to Drago and the Ice Crew. The human boys backed up and bunched together, cackling.

"Uh-oh...!" Cobra sneered. Ice and DJ slapped each other a high-five.

"You betta start runnin'. Big Boss Kim ain't gonna show you no mercy," Ice finished the sentence.

"Who is this 'Kim'?" Drago snarled, gathering the hottest fire in his right fist. "Tell me!"

"You'll find out!" Behind the boys, what looked like three black car vans skidded across the road of the parking lot in a straight line. They abruptly stopped just a few inches behind the boys. From behind, blue-and-black uniformed men with large guns marched out. A man in a black business suit stepped out from the passenger's seats and began loading what looked like bullets into his gun.

"Great job, boys. I'm proud of you. You followed the plan," the man in the business suit praised.

"Yeah. We caught D-Man with minor problems," Cobra lifted his shirt up to inspect it. The man looked at his shirt and slightly nodded.

"We'll worry about your wounds later. Where is Jun and Lola? They should be here," the man looked around and asked. He fixed his eyes on Drago and grinned. "So this is the son of Shendu I'm meeting face-to-face?"

"Who are you and what do you want?" Drago slowly began stepping away from the army and the men.

"I am your friend. I want to help you. I am no enemy," the man bowed. Drago shook his head and glared.

"If you're my supposed 'friend', then why are you working with these failures?" a disgusted dragon pointed to the trio of criminals. " Tell me your purpose or _scram_ before I make you!" He released a stream of smoke from his nose.

"Make me? Hardly! You don't know who you're talking to with that tone," the man snarled back. "And for your information, these 'failures' work for me. You'll do well to remember that later on," the man replied.

Drago's eyes flashed red. "What does **that** mean?" The man in the business suit did not answer, for he was busy getting his pistol ready. He put both hands on both sides of the gun and placed his index finger on the trigger.

"You do realize bullets don't hurt me, right?" Drago placed his hands on his hips and smirked.

"I never said it was a bullet," the business man squeezed the trigger. The man stepped back and watched at the 'bullet' soared through the air and hit Drago in his chest. He staggered back and gingerly touched his injury. He ripped off the 'bullet' and inspected it.

"Yo, what is that Boss Kimikaz?" the Ice pointed to his former boss. "Looks like a tranquilizer dart thingies."

Kim placed a hand on his employee's shoulder and laughed manically. "Yes it is. He'll be knocked out for quite a while, long enough for us to take him in. When he's done, get him and drag him in."

"Don't you dare touch me!" Drago screamed as he let out a wave of fire separate them. They took a step back from where the fire hit, but still kept walking.

"Just fall asleep, D-Man. You're probably gonna need it anyway," Ice and his friends jumped over the fire.

"I'm not going down without you catching me first!" too weak, Drago unknowingly turned back into his human form. The young man struggled to get up, setting his weight on his hands.

Kimikaz shot two more darts at Drago's back, the dragon cried out in pain. "Give up. Just go to sleep already before I put you to sleep in a more **painful**way," the threatening voice sounded somewhat soothing to Drago's ears. He knew his body was going slack by the second. Using the car beside him, the demon stood up and growled at Kimikaz.

"You're gonna pay for this!" he hissed, pointing his fingers at the Ice Crew and the executive. In a short burst of energy, Drago was able to turn himself around and sprint back inside the mall.

"Ugh! He keep tryna get away!" a frustrated Ice punched his palm.

"No," the CEO declared. He signaled for his men to walk inside the mall.

"Find Drago and throw him in the truck. While you're doing that, find Delya and bring Delya and throw her in a different truck. Can't have those two working together and escaping," came Kimikaz's order. "And what happened to Lola and Jun? If you can find them, bring them back."

"And if someone tries to stop us?" Ice saluted with a hand to his head.

"They won't. Trust me," he laughed.

* * *

"That was **so** easy!" Delya wiped her brow. Ever since getting her shopping bags from the cashier, she didn't face any more problems from anyone. The walk to her car and back was quick. She laughed and covered her mouth. "I can't believe I was about to be arrested by that police guy. He's lucky he didn't get a taste of my magic either," Delya said as she rubbed her hands together. She had run far enough from trouble to know that she was safe for now.

"And where in _hell's name_ is Drago? He was supposed to be here, like, sometime before **I** came," the woman put her hands on her hips. She sighed and impatiently tapped her foot.

_I should've known Drago doesn't listen to anything when he's fighting someone_, the demon dame slapped her forehead in disgust. She yawned and fell backwards into a chair. She exhaled and wiped her sweaty brow.

"I was lucky enough to get away in time though," Delya laughed as she turned around. Her purple eyes were greeted by bright green light and they went from being relaxed to anxious.

"Stand up, put your hands behind your head and walk slowly towards that door," a calm and chilling voice ordered. It was Lola, a done-playing-games-with-you Lola. Her green eyes seem to have grown darker as she held her drumstick in one hand and a handful of her magic in the other. Her expression and stance did not seem to break.

Delya backed up from her chair and stood up, unconsciously putting her hands up. "Whoa whoa! No need to shoot me."

"I will if I have to," the Filipina threatened.

"Okay, okay. Let's just chill out for a minute—"

"There will be no 'chill' until I bring you to my boss," Lola jabbed her chi weapon into Delya's back, making the girl jump.

"Ow, that really hurts! That's worse than hitting my head on the floor!" Delya whimpered.

"Just keep walking," Lola ordered. "Now you know how it felt when you decided to electrify my friend and I."

Delya chuckled and covered her mouth. "I'm not going to lie, that was funny seeing your reactions to the—"

"Are you going to keep walking or keep telling me about all the good times you had hurting me?" Lola sighed. She poked Delya again and watched her jump.

"Keep going towards the door and stand outside. And if you try and do anything to escape, I'll make sure you don't get to walk anymore."

It was now that Delya was starting to get scared. She bit her lip. "Who are you taking me to and why?"

"That's none of your business. You'll see who'll be giving you mercy—if there will be any mercy left to give," the tone of the Filipina's voice lowered. No one in the store looked hard enough to notice the hostage situation going on. The complete walking silence seemed quicker than anything Delya had done in the store so far.

_I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die….I don't wanna die… _Delya fretted.

"So how old are you?" the demon dame abruptly asked.

"I'm nineteen and that's all you're going to get from me. What about you?"

"Twenty."

"So you're in a college…university?" Lola asked. She had many nineteen and twenty year-old friends that were currently in college.

"Not really sure what that is. I mean, I've heard the phrase being used before, but the complete definition is confusing me. What's college like? Have you been there? I mean, you are a college-bound age, right?" the demon dame asked.

"I don't go to college," Lola said. Delya raised her brow at that. _That's something you don't hear from a young person her age everyday_, she thought.

"I thought you said that was all I'm getting from you." She felt the heat from the light chi grow from her back, so Delya bent over and sweep-kicked Lola. The girl fell and the incoming shot went upwards. It was a like a rocket, shooting straight up and hitting a light. The light flickered, and the next few lights close to it.

"I might as well shut off all the lights in the store while I'm at it," the demon dame said. She simply clapped her hands and reached down to touch the tiles. The tiny shock from her hand inched off and made its way towards a nearby light switch in approximately two seconds. The broken and flickering light suddenly turned off and began to lead a trail of darkness. It only took three minutes for all the lights in the mall to completely shut off.

"What's going on?!" many cried.

"Mommy, Daddy, all the lights are off. I'm getting scared!" a little boy clutched his parent's legs.

"It's a ghost, man! A ghost, or better yet an alien, possessed the electronics in the mall. Soon enough, all our phones will say something like, "Take us to your leader" or "Surrender now or have Earth be destroyed!"

Lola tried to give a semi-horrified look at Delya, but it was hard to see her. "What did you do to the lights?"

"Don't freak out, you big baby. It'll come back on," Delya watched as the lights turned back on, brighter than before. She darkly chuckled and brushed off her shoulders

"See? Anyway," Delya pointed to the young chi wizard and declared, "if I ever see your face around me or my friends again, I'll set my levels from 'Stun' all the way to 'Ash'. Heed my warning if you like the way you are living," the demon ran off. Lola picked up her drumstick and slammed her fist to the ground in anger.

"Ugh! I screwed up again! I'm so going to get in trouble!" the girl fretted.

* * *

"Where is the Light-Bulb when you need her?" Drago sat down and covered his face. The anesthetic shots had gotten to his nerves and were getting on his nerves. They were starting to spread across his body and make him drowsy.

"I'm probably not going to make it back to Delya's car," he moaned, touching his sensitive spots. He quickly pulled out the small darts, then shoved them back into his pocket.

"ZIK Inc., huh?" the son of Shendu looked behind him. There were three of Kimikaz's officers walking around. Their weapons were hidden in their attire, but the men still looked intimidating. They set their helmets down on a round table and sat down. They put on sunglasses and tried not to look suspicious.

"Ouch," Drago hissed. "This is gonna be a long walk from here to the door. If I can just keep a low profile..."

"There you are!" Delya pointed to her friend. Drago nearly jumped a mile in his chair before finally deciding to stand up. "What the hell?"

"What do you mean 'what the hell'? Dude, where have you been? I've been running circles around this mall and when I finally appear at the place where we're supposed to meet, **you're not there**. What happened? Are you just not good at following directions?" Delya rolled her eyes. Drago shot out of his chair and placed his hands on his housemate's shoulders.

"Listen to me..."

"To your lame excuse? What is it this time?" the demon dame placed her hands on her chest with a doubtful expression. She was prepared to hear a lame excuse from Drago.

"When you're talking so loud like that, you're letting those men behind me hear our conversation. Sit down. No. In fact, let's go right now if you want to go," the uneasy dragon gestured towards the exit.

"Yeah, I'm eager to go! I'm not that mad, I was just confused and kinda annoyed," the demon folded her arms. The dragon slightly began nudging Delya towards the exit. "Who are they and what do they want? They want you?"

"Long story. Tell you in car. Go now," he said. Drago didn't have to look behind him to know that the three men stood up and pushed in their chairs in unison. They grabbed their helmets and tucked it under their arm. Drago felt chills going up and down his back. He leaned in Delya's ear. "Walk a little faster."

"Don't worry, I know how to get those geeks off our backs," Delya chuckled. On the wall, there was a red box with a tiny hammer inside she was eyeing. There was a glass screen on the outside that read 'Break Glass In Case Of Emergency'.

Delya smoothed her hands together quickly and placed both of her warm hands on the box. "Ouch! That really hurt my scar. Anyway, we better run."

"For wha—"

From the sprinklers from the ceiling, water quickly fell to the cold floor. It was then that people, mainly the females, started to scream. Drago couldn't help but to scream either, since water was his weakness. He covered his head with his hoodie and gave an annoyed glare to his frenemy.

"Really?" he glared at Delya.

"What, it was the quickest thing that will help us escape? Besides, those losers are busy trying to stay dry," she pointed them out. The men were covered their heads and trying to hide under the table. It seemed as if they did not like the feeling of the artificial rain

"Now I'm wet and my new clothes are probably wet too...wherever they are," Drago began to complain.

"Dude, chill out. They're back in the car," Delya pointed to outside. "While you were doing whatever you were doing, I was able to go outside and back without anyone chasing me."

"Whoop-de-doo for you. Do you want a cookie for your amazing feat?" Drago rolled his eyes.

"I would, thanks for asking. Now let's shut up and get out of here!" Delya hooked herself onto Drago's arm and pulled him towards the door.

"I thought we were going to wait until the sprinklers go off!" the son of Shendu cried. It was clear he was having much trouble trying to stay on his feet because of the slippery wet floor. Once he got to the outside cement, he didn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Are you going to keep jabbering or are you going to just go?"

Drago placed his hand on his knees, doubling over. "I can't run. My side hurts."

"Ugh! **Really**?! I swear at the pace we're moving, those three guys are definitely going to catch us," the young woman had to groan. she went behind her frenemy and pushed him to her car. "C'mon you! Walk!"

Delya went around to the driver's side of the car and strapped herself in quickly. She leaned over and pushed open the door to the passenger's side. Delya frantically patted the seat. "Sit your butt here!"

Drago tiredly did so, letting out a heavy exhale of exhaustion. He slammed the door behind him. Delya reached over the seat and strapped her housemate in for him. She pulled out her keys, pressed them into the ignition and turned the car on. Once she heard the vehicle start to rev up, Delya took this as her open signal to quickly pull out of the lot.

"You're going too fast! Slow down!" Drago warned.

"Well ya know, it's hard to concentrate when someone is over here about to mysteriously pass out. How bad was the fight between you and the Ice Crew? Lemme guess; you lost again, right?"

"No I didn't," Drago replied. Delya gave him a quick 'I-don't-believe-you' look before setting her eyes back to the road before her. "You're lying. I know it. Once we get home, you have to tell me everything."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't."

"Drago, I'm serious. Tell me what happened while the four of you were fighting or else."

Drago turned and glared at Delya. "Maybe it's none of your damn business," he snapped. The demon dame was taken aback, brushing her curly hair from her face.

"See, I told you you were going to get hurt and look what happened? You almost got hurt and...and maybe kidnapped!"

"I know."

"Why oh _why_ did you let me think it was okay to let you fight the Ice Crew again after the last time?" the girl fretted.

"I'm really tired and have this huge headache and you talking at a mile an hour is not making it any better," the human/dragon boy yawned. What he said was partially a lie; he had a small headache and he was sleepy. Drago felt as if it were Delya's nonstop talking that was making the headache worse. Delya had gotten quiet from Drago's small outburst and bit her lip. It was a habit she had been picking up after the injury she had obtained in Columbia. She felt a fight coming on.

"Okay, sorry. Why don't you ever want to tell me anything tragic that happens to you? You get kidnapped and left for dead. When I find you and ask 'what happened'? If I happened to find you almost drowning in water and save you, all it was was a 'simple accident'. Drago, how can I help you if you don't want to communicate to me? You can't even tell me a summary?"

"Must you always be asking me questions?" Drago's tone began to rise.

"You know it! I'm in charge of you in case you don't know!" Delya shouted.

"Well, I don't! And I don't want you to know either! It's nothing for you to worry about."

"But if that was me fighting the Ice Crew and getting hurt, you would be playing '50 Questions' with me. You'd be acting like an overprotective parent," the demon dragon huffed out a small portion of soot.

"But I'm not and I don't, so what are you trying to say?"

"_I'm saying_ you're acting like a self-righteous hypocrite."

"And I'm saying that sometimes, you need to learn how to mind your own business! You always feel the need to worry about something that usually not for you to worry about. I already told you that you're giving me a headache and I'm sleepy and you _still_ want to try and argue with me!"

"I'm not arguing, I'm proving a point to you—"

"As much as I appreciate what you're saying, I don't care about what you have to say. I got hit with these tranquilizer darts that make me sleepy while fighting, alright?" the tempered demon waved the empty darts at his driver. He pinched his nose bridge before talking. "Every minute I'm sitting here in this unbearable heat, my body is growing numb! My head feels fuzzy, I can't see straight, I'm getting drowsy, every place on my body hurts like hell! I feel like I'm about to die and you telling me about bad decisions is not making the situation better! If you want to hear me say it, **fine**! I get it! I _truly_ get that this time, I screwed up big time! I should have been listening to what the plan was! Sorry," Drago laid back in his seat with a sharp inhale.

Delya moved her wet hair from her face again, tapping the steering wheel of the car and bit her lip. She could feel the heat from her embarrassment rise to her face. Delya truly wanted to yell at Drago back, but she didn't want to risk another argument. A prickly feeling rolled up and down Delya's spine and she knew what it was: defeat.

"If you really feel that way, fine. I understand," she pushed the reluctant apology out. Drago grunted as his response. He leaned his head against the window, not trying to make visible eye contact with his driver.

**A/N: Ugh, spring break is over, but I am back and feelin' more alive than ever! Shook off some major writer's block here. I had so much trouble trying to write it because I had so many scenes in my head, yet they couldn't fit together when I typed this up. While I set up for the next c-r-a-z-y chapter, you guys can click that review button to tell me your opinion on this chapter! Stay tuned!**


	22. Chapter 22

**/N: Hey everyone. I'm back and my summer vacation has already started. I was supposed to upload some 2 chapters in June, but I'll see if I can make up for it.**

"**Gone**?! What do you mean Delya and Drago are **gone**?!" Kimikaz raged. His fists were clenched and his forehead was decorated with his blue veins. He was talking to a drenched Lola. All she could do was just shrug and sigh.

"They are gone, as in they escaped. They got away," she awkwardly shuffled her feet in the concrete. The Filipina cringed, imagining Kimikaz's anger.

"I swear I thought I had 'em...I had trapped Delya and was about to lead her to the door when she tripped me and ran away. I was _so close_ too! Somehow, Delya had turned off all the lights in the mall and turned the emergency sprinklers on. It all happened so fast..."

Kimikaz placed a hand on his chin and studied his employee. "That explains why you are wet. Usually, sprinklers on a ceiling don't go off without sensing some smoke or a fire."

"I thought D-Man was behind this. The dude is a dragon after all," Ice shrugged. Kimikaz shook his head.

"Delya must have been taught some magic by Aunti. I had underestimated her—once again," the businessman turned to Jun. "Now what of Drago?

"I don't know. I barely got a chance to see him because this policeman almost got me arrested!" Jun pointed his thumb to himself. "I did see Delya, but she ran off before I could actually track her down. Sorry 'bout that."

Kimikaz gritted his teeth and placed a tight hold on his firearm. Finally, he sighed and ran a hand through his combed hair. "And at this point, I'm pretty sure Delya has taken Drago to who-knows-where. Ugh, we are getting nowhere with this!" Kimikaz turned around to rant at nothing in particular.

"Let's just make a locator spell. No big deal," Jun suggested. Kimikaz glanced back towards Jun, giving him a solemn look.

"How can we make a locator spell when there is no visible trace of Drago or Delya to be found?" he asked with an annoyed tone of voice.

"I think the dude meant next time when we clash wit' da demon duo, yo," Ice spoke up.

"I can't wait until there's a next time. What if there isn't a next time? There must be a way to lure them into a trap!"

"I'm pretty sure there's a way. We just need to put our heads together," Lola nervously chuckled.

"I usually don't like waiting, but Jun's idea is doable. The problem is how can we pull anything from Drago or Delya that can be tracked?" Kimikaz touched his beard.

"Let's just check inside the mall for anything they might have left behind," Lola implied. Ice loudly scoffed.

"And what ideas have you put forth, mister?" Lola pointed at Ice.

"Nuthin' yet, but at least my idea ain't as whack as yo's!" Ice retorted as he knocked aside the chi wizard's finger away from him. "And don't point at StrikeMaster Ice, dawg!"

"I'll do whatever I feel like, '**dawg**'!" Lola argued. Ice rolled up his black sleeves to his elbows and charged at Lola, but Cobra and Fist pulled him back. At the same time, Jun was having trouble pulling Lola back.

"Why do you always have to argue with those guys?!" the dark wizard chided. "You know they're nothing but trouble!"

"Oh, I'll stop arguing once he gets a good piece of me!" She yelled back.

"Chill out man! Settle yo' beef with Lo' later!" Cobra said. DJ nodded his head, trying to pull his friend away from his about-to-be opponent.

"I swear on e'er'thang if that l'il punk chick keep steppin' up to me, I'll—!" Ice rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.

"**_ENOUGH_**!" commanded Kimikaz. He had quickly grown tired of hearing endless arguing, mainly between Lola and Ice. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to face the boss.

"Yea, boss man?" Ice looked to his employee.

"Please. _Stop. Arguing_. You're giving me such a massive headache," the CEO admitted, turning back around. Once he did, Ice and Lola resorted to giving each other dirty looks.

"There has got to be a way to lure Delya and/or Drago out of their hiding spots without them running away again," Kimikaz continued. "What did Delya and Drago need that they came to the mall?"

"Well, they were going in and out of the mini malls, shopping for clothes," Lola piped up.

"They were shopping for men's clothes and some men's hygiene—for Drago I'm assuming," Jun crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay, so Delya was getting things for Drago. This would probably mean that Drago lives in the same house as Delya," continued Lola.

"Yeah, but how we gonna pull D-Man out D-Girl's house? Boss man hit 'im wit' those tranquilizers, so he gonna be knocked out fo' awhile. Dat means we gotta find a way to track only De-Girl down," Cobra mentioned. Kimikaz's eyes brightened hearing this.

"Yes...I did hit him with those tranquilizer darts, so that would mean Drago would be unconscious for a full two days," the business man counted with his fingers.

"Fo' real?" Ice's mouth dropped open.

"Yes. I've created darts that let people sleep for an hour, six hours and a full day or for two full days."

"If we can pull Delya out of hiding, she can tell us information on where she and Drago are located. That'll be a two-in-one score!" Jun cheered.

"That will be an issue that Tân and I will discuss privately later. But I have to say that you all have done an— _alright_ job today. Right now...," Kimikaz took in a deep breath, holding the bridge of his nose. He took a deep exhale and let go of his nose. "Right now, we all should take a break. Just take a break for awhile until I call for you again," the CEO continued, walking to one of the ZIK vans.

"Let's head back to headquarters." As the ZIK guards/employees headed back to their vans, the Ice Crew cheered, giving each other high-fives and being loud.

"We 'bout to be gettin' some greenbacks t'day!" Cobra whooped. The group of 3 boys then walked past Lola and Jun, who had remained silent.

"Waitaminute," interjected Ice. He held his hands out to stop his posse from walking. He walked back to where Lola was standing to give her a green-eyed cold look.

"Dis time Big Boss KZ protected yo' skinny l'il butt," the blonde teen growled, pointing his finger in Lola's chest. "Next time you gonna be gettin' a cold taste o' _StrikeMaster Ice_!"

Ice walked off with DJ and Cobra right behind him. The young wizard put her hands on her hips and huffed.

"I hope Kimikaz fires them soon because they're really, **really** getting on my last nerves."

Jun ran a hand through his shaggy hair and made a frustrated sigh. "Well, I can't really blame you for doing what you did. I swear they're so aggravating."

"I wonder how in the world their family and friends had to deal with—" Lola froze up, her eyes going wide with realization.

"You wonder how in the world their family and friends what?" Jun waved his hand in front of his fellow wizard's face. The light chi wizard blinked, coming back into the grips of reality.

"Are you okay?" Jun asked. "You totally spaced out."

"A light-bulb went off."

"What kind of light-bulb?"

"A plan light-bulb."

Jun playfully raised his brow at that. "A plan to get the Ice Crew or a plan to get Delya? Either way, you know I'm in."

"Actually, it's neither. What time is it?" Jun took a quick glance at his wristwatch.

"It's 1:12."

"Great," Lola sinisterly rubbed her hands together. "Delya has had her turn of a ZIK scare today. Next time, it's gonna be Jackie Chan's turn."

Jun took a step back in fear. "Jackie Chan? The archaeologist dude Kimikaz talked about."

"Course! It's Chan, the little girl, the elder man and the big guy. If we can't get through to Drago or Delya, then maybe one of them will give us some of the answers we need," Lola rubbed her hands together.

"And maybe we can get one of them to work for us in Drago's place. Yeah, it could work. But how are we going to know where they're going to be at?"

"We got to lure them into a trap, Jun. Old-fashioned cat-chases mouse. We'll call the plan Operation: Capture The Flag."

"You're like a mini-genius," Jun laughed and rubbed Lola's hair in a playful way.

"Of course I am. I didn't get good grades in my school for nothing, you know."

* * *

"This is now the _second_ time ZIK has come after me. This time, you were there to witness it," Drago turned to his hostess. Delya and Drago were in Aunti's/Drago's room. Drago was lying in his bed with pajama material; a black tank and red underwear shorts. He was covered in many blankets, for Drago was complaining about being cold. The demon dame sighed, biting her lip in embarrassment.

"Not only that, but they might have been trying to kidnap us," the demon shook her head. "Why are they doing this?"

"To get at me. I guess they're figuring if they can't choose me to pick their side, I'm going to be forced to. I'm not sure why they want you though," Drago faced his frenemy.

"So what are we going to do? By now, ZIK Inc is probably crawling around San Fran. Even if we take a good ten steps out the house, we're going to get caught," Delya worried.

"We're going to **not** get caught, that's what. Well, you're going to not get caught. Ugh, I feel those damn darts paralyzing me already. I can't move."

Delya sat on the bed and put her head in her hands. She scratched her hair and looked up. "Ever since summer hit, it's been so crazy for me and I don't understand why."

"It's only going to get worse, trust me," the demon dragon laid his head on his pillow. "By now, ZIK is probably swarming the city looking for us. I'm practically a prisoner runaway." the son of Shendu shrugged. "I'll be surprised if I make it out of this mess alive..."

"Too bad I can't bring Section 13 into this...," the young woman scratched her hair. Drago looked at his hostess with a death look, dark soot coming out of his nose.

"You better keep your mouth shut," the dragon hissed. "I'm not about to get tracked down by Section 13 and ZIK. One crazy company is enough," the male's glare softened. "I don't want Chan, Captain Whack, that sumo, Grandpa and that little pipsqueak all coming after me like before. I already had to deal with all that time hiding in a smelly junkyard with three other bumbling idiots and you."

"You chose to stay there. And is that all you're going to do, blow up at me?!" Delya balled her fists. "That is what you like to do. This doesn't make what's going on **any better**!"

"_Everything_ I've done with you so far has gotten me hurt in some kinda way and I'm tired of it. Just **get out** of my room," Drago took his eyes off his caretaker and stared up at the ceiling.

"You're lucky I decided not to go anywhere when you came to me asking for a place to stay. I'm a nice person, but when you cross my lines and push my buttons somebody gets hurt. And that person's about to be you. I know we did this whole deal thing where you scratch my back and I scratch yours, but your back is about to get slashed," Delya stated. Drago looked away from the ceiling and gave a cold stare towards Delya.

"Have a nice day _somewhere else_ please," were the words that came out from Drago's gritted and fanged teeth. "I'm trying to get through the pain and your yelling is not helping."

"I've been trying to live through my internal pain ever since the night I found out my Aunt Eva passed and you don't see me crying about it."

"Yes I do," came Drago's edgy response. Delya ripped Drago's covers off and threw them down on the floor. She pointed to the shopping bags lying on the floor. "You see this? I bought so many things for you in the past few days just so you can live in my house without looking like a homeless bum. I've bought countless food, so many clothes, shoes, deodorant just so you can look like an average human!"

"So what do you want me to do? Be grateful because of all those acts of kindness?" the dragon rolled his eyes.

"**I** want you to give me a perfect reason as to why you deserve all these nice things when you don't treat me nice. You said I'm a demon _right_? And you said demons like us should stick together, _right_? This—," the demon pointed to herself, Drago and all around her, "**THIS** is _most definitely_ not sticking together. It's in fact the complete opposite."

Drago gave Delya a suspicious look and exhaled, a cloud of soot falling from his nose again. "So what do you want me to do?" the demon repeated the question, but in a softer tone.

_Finally, what I'm saying goes through his thick skull._ "I want you to talk to me. Show me some teamwork from time to time. You know that word? T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K," the young woman wiped her nose. She pointed outside the window. "I know you're angry at me, but you need to learn to chill out sometimes. If you don't want to work with me, fine. Then there's your exit and I'll see you in **never**," Delya raised her voice on the last question, sitting on the bed beside her guest. Drago slowly nodded.

"Thank you," a relieved Delya smiled.

"But you've got to promise me you won't say a word."

"Rrr, you say that every time! It's starting to get annoying now! Can I at least tell them about the ZIK attack and the darts?" the young woman whined. Drago pointed a stern finger in Delya's face.

"What did I **just say**?"

"Yeah, but we were in serious danger out there! Can I tell them everything that _didn't_ involve you?" Delya pleaded. Drago placed his hand on his goatee and sighed.

"Fine, but nothing else."

"See? Your secret's safe with me," Delya replied reassuringly. The tired dragon gave her a suspicious side long glance in response. "And I find out you said any kind of information about me, I'll make sure you suffer **double**. Your little rant was funny for the first few seconds, but I'm the guest here so don't you forget it."

"Yeah, yeah you're scary. Now lay back down, you're wasting your energy," Delya rolled her eyes. Deep down, she was curious as to what Drago meant by her suffering. She picked up the bed covers on the floor and put them back on Drago.

"That should warm you up some." As Delya said this, she noticed his eyes start to blink more frequently and his eyes getting sleepy.

"Hey," the woman waved her hand in front of the young dragon's face. "Are you okay? Want me to get you something?"

"I'm okay," he mumbled into his pillow. "My head feels fuzzy..."

"Is that a problem I can fix?" Delya tilted her curious head to one side.

Drago exhaled, his eyes droopy. "Am I drowning?"

"Hey...Wake up!"

"I'm...alright..." In a matter of seconds Drago was knocked out, the tranquilizers finally taking their full effect on the reptile. Delya knew this, yet felt uneasy seeing Drago sleeping/unconscious. Delya reached over and placed her hand on Drago's face. His face was sweaty and hairy from the extreme San Francisco heat and from Drago's facial hair. She wiped off the sweat and bit her lip.

"...I hope you get better soon," Delya rubbed the knocked-out dragon's hair. She took the covers of the bed and placed it over Drago. The demon dame smoothed out the large blanket and stood up. She scratched his head and wore a remorseful look on his face. "This is going to be a very long story to explain to Captain Black..."

* * *

"Access denied."

"Argh!"

"Access denied. Access denied. Access—Access denied."

"_C'mon_, you stupid card!" Jade grumbled as she tried to slip the ID card through the slide. The Chinese teen was standing in front of the vault door to the Gemstones, desperately trying for it to open. "Open the door already!"

"What are you doing?!" a voice wailed from behind. Jade almost jumped a mile, her ID card almost falling from her hands. It was Uncle.

"You are not to use the gems!" the elder shook his finger in Jade's face.

"I wasn't!" the girl turned away from her elder.

"Then what were you trying to do?" Uncle questioned.

Jade shoved her hands in her pocket and rocked her heels back and forth in a shameful manner. "Nothing important. Heh, heh."

"Jade..." Uncle huffed, giving his grand-niece a doubtful look.

"It was nothing, really! Just trying to take a good look at the gems..." the Asian girl tried to explain.

"No," Uncle commanded, pulling her away from the large vault door. "Does not matter! You will not step near vault!"

"Awww..."

"Why do you cause so much trouble for Jackie?" Uncle grumbled. Jade snapped her head to face her elder.

"Because he's always getting in my way and is always being annoying," the Chinese teen crossed her arms and turned away.

"That is because he is your guardian. He is _supposed_ to be in your way! He is _supposed_ to be annoying! All to protect you! And all you do is disrespect him," Uncle pointed his finger to Jade and scoffed, shaking his head.

"You remind Uncle of Jackie when he was a teenager the second time he came to America," the chi wizard muttered.

"I do?" Jade's amber eyes bugged out of her head. This was one of the few times anyone talked about Jackie's past. No one had felt the need to ask because they thought the Jackie now was the same as the Jackie of back them.

"Of course," Uncle nodded. The many memories of the trouble Jackie ran rampant through the elder's thoughts. "When you make up with Jackie, you can ask him!"

"What's going on?" a humble voice demanded. It was Jackie coming towards Uncle and Jade's way. Uncle dismissively waved his hand to Jackie.

"Do not worry. Uncle has already corrected Jade," the man replied. Jade turned her head away from her uncle, not because she was embarrassed of getting caught but because of what Uncle had told her.

"What did she do?" Jackie asked. Uncle raised his hand up to give Jackie a two-fingered slap.

"Ow!"

"Uncle said do not worry about it! You need to worry about how to get along! This feud is going too far!" Uncle huffed. "Because of this, Jade's mischievous behavior is unacceptable! She used to be just like you second time you moved here!" Jackie's expression went from annoyed to complete shock. Jade gasped, holding her mouth with her hands.

"Tha-_That's not true_! That's _crazy_, Uncle! _You're_ crazy!" Jackie stuttered in disbelief, shaking his head at his older relative.

"Oh? So you think Uncle is a fool because he doesn't remember all the crazy things you've done, just like Jade?" he stuck his finger in his nephew's face.

"Uncle, please—"

"Uncle **does not** want to hear it!" Uncle grabbed Jackie by the ear and Jade by her hoodie, pulling the two closer to himself. "Uncle is too old to see his family being torn apart because niece will not listen to her uncle and Jackie does not listen to Jade's needs. The last time there was big argument like this, it was Uncle against his former apprentice and look what happened then. Tohru was kidnapped by Shadowkhan, all because of stupid arguments! Now we are all going to sit down and work this out like family or else you will all get a piece of Uncle today!"

With this, Uncle began pulling his relatives to his room walking through all the agents standing around. Most stopped working to take a look at Uncle, then at Jackie with curiosity.

"It's just a brief family talk," he reassured to all staring. Then his cell phone began to rang.

"Uncle, my phone is ringing," the archaeologist claimed.

"Phone call can wait!" Uncle cried. Against his uncle's wishes, Jackie pulled his small phone from his pocket and pressed 'Call'. "Hello?"

Uncle let go of Jackie and Jade, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "Aiyah!" Jackie made the signal to his elder relative to be quiet, listening intently to the person on the other line.

"Hello?...Oh..How are you?...Uh...I'm...busy...What about you?...Are you alright?...Do you want to talk about it?...Alright..Don't worry, Captain Black will hear about this too...Alright, see ya...bye," Jackie pressed 'End' with his thumb and put his phone in his back pocket.

"Who was that?" asked Jade from beside Uncle.

"It was Delya. She wants to talk to us about something important," Jackie slid his phone back into his pocket.

"Aiyah! What could demon want that could be more important than this family talk?!" Uncle complained.

"I'm not sure. When she gets here, I'm sure she'll tell us everything. But we will have to save this 'family conversation' for later," the martial artist replied. Uncle crossed his arms and huffed.

"Fine, but right afterwards we are picking up right back to where we started!"

* * *

"The Ice Crew is out of jail?!" Black slammed his hand onto his desk.

"You saw Jun and the other girl?!" Jackie's eyes bugged out from his desk.

"Did you get any kind of burns from the good chi?" Tohru looked around Delya for an injury.

"Did you get any sort of injury?" Jade did the same as Tohru.

"Was Tân there?" Uncle raised his shaggy brow at the demon.

Questions from Tohru, Captain Black, Jackie, Jade and Uncle were thrown at Delya with incredible speed. She was in Black's office, sitting in a chair with the Chan Clan and Black surrounding her in a semi-circle.

"Whoa, whoa! One question at a time. I can't take all of them at once," said the demon fatale. "I know this was a pretty scary experience, but let's all just take in deep breaths for a minute."

"Okay," Jackie quieted down, putting his hand to his head. He turned to Captain Black and continued, "How in the world did the Ice Crew get out of jail? I thought you said they were convicted and sent to prison?"

"I did. I was sure of it," Black agreed. "My superiors had told me and I had gone to Hollowlands to witness it myself. Are you **sure** the Ice Crew was at the mall?"

"**I know** it was them. Slang-talking skateboarders. Short dude with a cheap blond haircut, purple haired dude with silver piercings and bull ring and the big, muscly guy with a black headband who doesn't talk. **It was them**."

"And you're saying Jun, _Jun Shields_, and that other girl was there too?" Jade was the next to ask her question. Delya nodded.

"Yep. And the girl's name was Lola, I found out. She had jabbed her chi weapon in her back, ready to kill me."

"Captain Black, show Delya that generated photo of Jun from yesterday," Jackie said. Black nodded and quickly began to type on his keyboard. Soon enough, the picture of the present Jun and the picture of Jun as a child stood by side.

"This is what I was trying to show you. Before Jun joined ZIK, he seemed to have a happy life before with all of those people," the researcher explained as he pointed to the photo. Delya scratched her head.

"Wow, so this was important for me to see," she marveled. "And the woman who's holding him must be his mom. She must miss her son."

"Lola," Black snapped his fingers. He changed the picture to another white screen as he furiously typed away. "After the first time you had met Tân and reported it to me, I did some research on her some few days ago, and I found out some interesting facts," the Section 13 chief went to his computer. "Her real name is LoAna Haku. She, like Jun, is nineteen. She's from the Philippines and had lived with her mother, father and little brother. She has been reported missing for three and a half years. By the second year, the Philippine government has declared her dead. Her father, Manila Haku, has been reported missing six months after his daughter's disappearance, presumably looking for Lola."

"Aw. Now I feel a little bad for the girl after electrifying her at the mall," the demon girl replied in a half-sarcastic tone. Jackie gave the woman a worrying look.

"It's called self-defense, Jackie."

"And Tân is another story," Jackie's comment was directed at Uncle. Uncle huffed at that, crossing his arms and turning to the wall.

"Of course he is another story. Tân is** traitor**! Trades his friend for riches and world domination! In other words, foolishness," the elder growled, shaking his fist in the air. "Uncle ought to give 'chi wizard' a piece of Uncle for even **thinking** about betraying him!"

"Tân has done crimes of conspiracy, theft and attempted robbery. It also says here he is deceased. He had 'died' in a jet crash in the Pacific Ocean. His ghost had roamed around the Philippines. Many of the Philippine residents there had reported sightings of the so-called ghosts of the people involved in the plane crash.," Black continued, reading off his computer. "After LoAna had disappeared, there was no more reports of Tân's ghost."

Using his projector, Black put up the poster that had a picture of Lola holding up a peace sign. Under the picture had word in capitalized fine black print.

"'Have you seen her? If so, please call 555-9365 or call police'," Jade read off the small poster. She frowned. "That's really sad. Her family doesn't even know she's alive and she's doing all these kind of crimes."

"She doesn't seem like the type to commit crimes though," Tohru admitted, lowering himself to Jade's level.

"Why?" asked Jade.

"The girl looks innocent. She's only nineteen. Maybe she's just following the wrong crowd. She could be changed with the right type of guidance from people like us."

"'**Right type of guidance**'? I don't know what kinda guidance she's been taught for her to almost kill me!" Delya interjected. "They always have that cute and innocent face but once your back is turned, they start committing crimes like nothin'."

"Tohru _does_ have a point. First, it was Tohru who had changed, then the Enforcers and Hak Foo," Captain Black announced. He changed the screen from the missing picture of Lola to a news clip.

"It looks like it's happening once again. A trio of bad boy fellows has broken free from Hollowlands Penitentiary, similar to what had happened two years before. Three young men, Michael-Cristiano Costa, Damian Suarez Soto, and Dwayne Miller escaped three days ago. Due to police, it is unclear how the young men escaped since "things don't add up." Now there is a released surveillance video that shows to be a man and a young girl helping them escape. Their method appears to have been using green dust to get the three adolescents out of their prison cell."

"Whoa. Is that—?" Jackie's eyes widened, his hands falling by his sides.

"It can't be," Delya added. "Lola broke those three jokes outta jail?"

"Just as the prison guards come running to check what is going on, the group of five disappear. The only thing that is left in the cell is pink flower petals that are covered in the same green dust. The two unknown assailants that helped Costa, Soto and Miller get away are assumed to be the boy's friends. The many questions remain standing as is. 'Is this real or just some kind of late Aprils Fools' Joke?' Meanwhile, the state of California has Costa, Soto and Miller under their Most Wanted List. The police have requested that if anyone knows about this case, they should notify police ASAP."

"And the Ice Crew are under California's Most Wanted List. Wow," Jade admitted. "Pretty impressive."

"Not!" Her archaeologist uncle quipped. "This means that if the Ice Crew was seen anywhere in the state, they will be immediately arrested. Trust me Jade, being a criminal is not fun at all."

"You didn't let me finish. I was going to say 'That was pretty impressive for a bunch of pizza-faced losers'," the Chinese girl stuck her tongue at the Ice Crew's mugshots.

Captain Black raised his eyebrow, finally closing the video. "Can't believe I didn't see that."

"Who was that other man aiding the juveniles escape? Was it Tân?" Uncle questioned. Black shrugged.

"Well, can you go to Hollowlands and do some sort of investigation?" Jackie turned to his friend. Black shook his head to Jackie's question.

"My hands are tied there. By now, my superiors have probably given that job to Section 12."

"Well, they're not doing a good job at it," Jade scoffed. She turned to Delya. "Was there anything else that happened at the mall during your ambush?"

"No, except the fact where I almost got arrested and I got shot at," Delya admitted. "But everything else was okay."

"Bah! Artificial bullets cannot hurt demons. Unless the bullet was protected in good chi magic, a human-made bullet usually cannot do much harm," Uncle reported.

"No, no, no. I'm not talking about those kind of bullets." From her pocket, Delya pulled out the tranquilizer darts she got from Drago and placed them on Captain Black's desk.

"Before I left, there was three guards dressed in black with their black helmets and logo designed on their suits. They shot at me but luckily, I moved out the way quick enough. I'm bringing this to you guys because I wanted to see if somebody could do some kind of analysis on it," she nodded.

"What did the logo say?" Tohru asked.

"ZIK! C'mon, ho else would mercilessly chase me in broad daylight?" the girl rolled her eyes. Everyone in the room except for Delya gasped in shock.

"ZIK Incorporated?!" Black gasped.

"Aiyah!"

"ZIK did that?" Jackie pointed to the darts.

"Oh yeah," Delya shook her head pitifully. "They're lucky I didn't do any more kind of damage in the mall because those little shocks I gave them obviously weren't enough. I had to trigger the water sprinklers on the ceiling just to get them off my back."

"We need to find out who the leader of ZIK Corporation is," the Chinese archaeologist put a hand on his chin.

"Jackie, it's ZIK Inc.," Delya claimed.

"Yes, whatever. It doesn't matter what their name is! They have done way too much damage already, and we barely know anything about them yet. They came at Delya, now who's next? Me?" Jackie explained, pointing at himself.

"If foolish ZIK wants a piece of Uncle, they can come get some! Uncle's Rare Finds is open _24/7_ for some old-fashioned whooping!" the chi wizard threatened.

"Hold on a minute," blurted the female demon. "The day we were first acquainted with ZIK was also the night I had found out about Aunti's death." The room fell deathly silent.

The young woman breathed in and out, rehearsing what she was ready to say in her head. "I don't want to talk about it as much as you guys do, but I'm going to prove a point so hear me out."

"About what?" Uncle lowly snorted. Delya chose to ignore that.

"It's getting to a point where I have to admit Aunti's death openly. It's not just that," Delya's voice cracked. Her eyes were beginning to brim with tears, but she chose to ignore them. "The day we were first acquainted with ZIK was also the night I had found out about Aunti's death. Aunti might have been ZIK's first target before we even knew **who or what** ZIK was."

"We need to figure this mystery out before more people get hurt. Delya, I think it would be better if you just stayed here in Section 13. ZIK doesn't know anything about here, right?" Jackie looked at the Section 13 boss.

"We don't know anything about them but at the pace they're moving, they probably know way more about us than we ever knew about ourselves, so Jackie is right. Delya, it would be a good idea if you stayed here," Augustus agreed.

"**No**!"

The room fell silent, this time in curiosity.

"I mean, I can't stay here because...because I have to pack up Aunti's clothing to send to Goodwill," Delya squeaked. She felt the heat rise in her neck at the lie she had told. The real reason was because in Drago's current unconscious situation, Delya just couldn't leave her guest at home all alone. Drago could be vulnerable to any kind of attack and the demon felt she had to be there, no matter how mean Drago was to her.

"And I have to start doing some packing for when I move after the summer, so I can't stay here. But I'll stay here longer if you like so you can check up on me from time to time."

"Alright. That's fair enough," Jackie mumbled.

"Well, I know one thing for sure. I'm not gonna stand around and act scared of some business who doesn't even know me. I'm a fighter," replied the demon dame, punching her hand in her palm. "If they want some from me, I'll definitely give them some and some leftovers to take home."

"That's my girl!" Jade cheered as she gave Delya a fist bump.

"You know it," the demon beamed.

"Is there anything else you want us to know before this meeting is officially over?" Uncle asked in a low voice to Delya.

Delya bit her lip, thinking long and hard. "Nope, I don't think so."

"Alright then. Baaaaack to the Chan family talk!" Uncle hollered as he grabbed Jackie by the ear and Jade by her hoodie.

"Hunh?" Jackie's gaped her mouth open.

"Don't worry about us," Jade dismissively waved her hand at her friend.

"Yes," Jackie added. "It will be really brief. Trust us."

"You thought Uncle's brain had forgotten about family talk but nooooooo! Thanks to the garlic, Uncle's memory is as good as elephant!" the Chinese elder claimed, walking out of the office. "Come Tohru! Uncle needs your assistance!"

* * *

_"Who are you? What do you want with me?"_

_"I would like you know what's your name."_

_"I asked you first, dammit. Tân did the same thing to me and now you're doing it too. Gotta be so stubborn," the son of Shendu growled. He was in a pitch black room sitting in a chair he couldn't see. Drago was talking to a familiar voice he had heard from somewhere, but he wasn't exactly sure where._

_"Everybody likes to make it complicated. What, are you an expert at it?"_

_"I am a leader, but I am not so complicated as you think. Now I brought you here today just for some, eh—__friendly__ talk. Before, Tân had requested for you to join ZIK. Your answer was no and you escaped your holding cell. I would like to know why you did that. A lot of money went down the drain trying to rebuild the damage you caused, do you _**_realize_**_ that?" the voice raised his tone._

_"Because I don't _**_work_**_ for people, _I_ am the employer. I'm not anyone's slave. And yeah, I did know I made a lot of damage at your facility. I had to get out, what did you expect?"_

_"I expected you not to destroy my property. And who told you _you_ would be a slave?" the anonymous voice boomed._

_"Tân. Even if he didn't say it, I don't let anyone be in charge of me except for myself," the demon huffed out a small cloud of soot._

_"Not even Delya?"_

_Drago's fists balled up faster than his tiger-like growl escaped his throat. "__Leave her name__ out your mouth before I burn off your tongue!"_

_"I really don't understand why you don't want to work here. ZIK Inc. is a wonderful place to work at. The Ice Crew did."_

_"That's because they're idiots with cheap haircuts and worthless lives."_

_"And what does that make you?" Drago snorted at the question and smirked._

_"Better than them."_

_"And what does this make Delya?"_

_"_None_ of your business!" Any minute now and Drago was about to explode from madness._

_"Why? Why are you so protective of her?"_

_"None of your damn business." A light was cast from above, showing full-body mirror appearing in front of Drago. He was in his human form in his just-bought pajamas. The dragon-turned-human had bed hair and his eyes had dark circles under them. Drago's skin was paler than usual. In other words, he looked drained._

_"Look at yourself. You are the only one here who's being the complicated one. I'm just trying to be your friend and trying to work things out with you and look what you're doing. Is this how you usually are?"_

_"Why do __you__ care?" The voice darkly chuckled._

_"What's so funny?" the demon dragon growled._

_"If I had hurt your so-called 'loved one' Delya, would you care?" _

_"You're lucky I can't move from this chair, otherwise I'd _**_beat your ass_**_!" Drago tried to shoot up out of his chair, only to find out he was stuck to it._

_"Really?" the voice laughed some more. "And with what powers?"_

_Drago raised his eyebrow at the comment. He opened his mouth, only for nothing to come out. __"Huh? What did you do to me?!"_

_"Why, your demon chi is gone. I decided you were through with friendly conversation," the voice answered gravely. "This is what you get."_

_"_**_I DEMAND YOU TO FREE ME_**_!" Drago yelled as he tried to break free from his bonds. The echoing voice laughed again._

_"Your escape attempts are futile. You won't ever be able to get out from that chair unless I permit you to do so. Now another reason why I called you here is because I know you know some information—information I am in desperate need of."_

_"Like what?"_

_"You do know about the magical nine gemstones of Samuel Long the Irish, right?" the man asked._

_The demon shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He glanced at the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_A thunderous slam echoed in the distance. "_Yes you do_! _Don't lie to me_!"_

_"I refuse to lie. I stand my ground when I say I don't know about any magical gems or some Irish guy." Drago felt a hand touch the side of his face. He recoiled his head._

_"Don't you _**_dare_**_ touch me!" The invisible hand turned into two as it touched both sides of Drago's face again. Suddenly, there appeared a pair of white glowing eyes._

_"Let's take a look inside your mind, shall we?"_

* * *

"Jade, tell Uncle why you are so mad at Jackie," Uncle started the meeting with a soft voice. They were sitting in Jackie's room in a circle. Jackie sat in the opposite way from Jade and Uncle and Tohru separated the two feuding Chans. Jade grunted.

"Uncle, I'm fourteen! You'd think Jackie would give me a little space by now. But **no**! He's like a heavy blanket weighing over you. After Captain Black said it was okay for me to be a secret agent, Jackie said no because I'm too young. Uncle, does it look like I'm too young?"

"You **are** too young!" Uncle argued.

"See what I'm telling you?!" Jackie intervened. He was given a slap on the head by Uncle.

"Ow!"

"Jackie, be quiet! Jade, you are fourteen but you are growing up too fast! You are fourteen, but you act like young adult! You need to enjoy your youth now! Slow down. You have two more years to become official secret agent," the elder advised his great-niece.

"But how am I going to get permission to go with Jackie on missions when he doesn't let me?" Jade whined.

"Whether Jackie gives you permission or not, you still follow him so why do you worry? As for Jackie, you were _always_ on Jade from the start! You don't see Uncle nagging on Jade all the time, do you?"

"No because you're always nagging on me!" Jackie argued. Another Uncle slap for Jackie.

"Ow! This is what I'm talking about!"

"Maybe if you listen and follow instructions, you would know that Uncle's question was **rhetorical**! When you aren't constantly on Jade's back, Jade will begin to learn the hard way and will begin to follow instructions," Uncle scolded Jackie. He exhaled and started again from there. "Now Jackie, tell Uncle why you are angry at Jade."

"Ever since the fight with Drago, Jade has been out of control!" the archaeologist claimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Define 'out of control'."

"Uncle, Jade is running around Section 13, she is playing with dangerous machines, she is doing things without my consent! It was just some minutes ago you told me Jade was trying to get inside the vault to play with the gemstones! When Jade first arrived here, I promised cousin Shen that I would take great care of her, and I'm trying _the best I can_. I may not be familiar with children, but I know children should not deliberately disobey their parents and guardians because what they're doing is 'fun'. It's the opposite! It's not fun knowing that some greater evil is always out there and half the time, they're**out** to get us! Just now, we heard Delya say the Ice Crew, two others and a whole organization come after her in the San Francisco Mall. This ZIK probably went after Aunti for a reason we're not sure yet. Next, it's going to be one of us. I know it. If Jade was ever hurt by ZIK of any one of the forces of darkness, I would never be able to forgive myself," Jackie sniffed, wiping his nose. Jade stared at the floor in embarrassment. Tohru placed a hand on Jackie's shoulder and made a weak smile.

"Jade, you know Jackie wants the best for you, so why is it that you must be so stubborn? People who are stubborn are usually the first ones getting hurt because they have such hard heads," the elder wizard demonstrated by knocking against his own head. Jade had kept quiet. "As a reminder, you came to America the same day all the magic fuss came into our lives. The least you could do is stay there when Jackie says stay there to think of some other kind of plan. Even Uncle himself is afraid that one day, Jade could end up being destroyed by the forces of darkness," the Chinese elder admitted.

"Well, I'm only trying to help out. Besides, Jackie doesn't do so well when I don't go with him," offered Jade.

"That may be true but my troubles seem to work out in the end just fine," argued her uncle.

"_Bah_! Jackie does just fine! There are multiple ways to beat the enemy, but disobeying your uncle is not always the right way. When you start listening to Jackie's instructions, then you can grow up. Now if Uncle hears any more loud arguments from either of you, you will _both_ get punished!" Uncle finished. "Tohru, is there anything Uncle has forgotten to cover in Chan family meeting?"

"No, but we should be doing more research on the gemstones," the sumo shrugged. Uncle snapped his fingers.

"Aiyah! Uncle almost forgot about that! See what this family caused Uncle to do?!" the elder screeched.

"He might need some more garlic..." Jade mumbled under Uncle's earshot.

"Now make up by hugging each other and apologizing straight away so we can all do **research**!" Uncle huffed and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

Jackie stood up and crouched down to Jade's level and stretched his arms out, giving Jade a weak smile. "Family?" he offered. Jade ran into her uncle's arms and gave him a smile back.

"Family!" she cheered. Before she could say anything else, she felt a hand grab onto her hood, trying to pull her towards the door. it was Uncle.

"Enough with the hugging! Time for research!"


	23. Chapter 23

"Let me guess: you didn't get _either_ of the demons," Tân opened one of his eyes in a sly manner. He was sitting at his desk in his room, once again meditating. Kimikaz was sitting on the opposite side of the chieftain wizard's desk.

"Yes. The Ice men, Lola and Jun had found the two in the mall. I had to bring a small group of men with me just in case Drago tried to put up a fight. He got away, but not before I shot some darts at him that should knock him out for a full two days," the CEO explained. "However I did score quite a small victory. I was able to get to the lizard boy through his dreams."

Tân sat up in his chair and gave a solemn look at his business partner. "Through his dreams? That's impossible! Dreaming magic is a rare and difficult form of magic. Not to forget very hard to do and control," the chieftain wizard raised his brow at that. "Not even _Jiang_ was familiar with that kind of magic."

"The last time I've heard of someone contacting another through his dreams was…so long ago. The man who had done it died of old age," Tân said. Kimikaz laughed at that.

"Not so. With Evangeline's magic, I am able to do only a small portion of what she does," the man smirked at his impressive feat. Tan frowned, but finally nodded.

"Did you do so with Jun's help or Lola's?" he asked.

"I doubt Jun knows anything about dreaming magic. Lola is smarter than her partner, but I doubt it. But I wouldn't be surprised if she could do the same, as she's similar to a child prodigy," the executive scratched his beard. "While Drago was asleep, I again tried to convince him to join ZIK, but he still declined in a rather angry manner."

Tân squeezed his face at the mention of Drago. He unconsciously rubbed his stomach in a circular motion. There lay a discolored bruise the last time he checked. "I still feel the pain from that morning."

"You know, he's funny to me," Kimikaz chuckled. "While we were talking, he expressed so much disdain for Ice and his men but whenever I mentioned Delya, he went into protective mode. Drago might have some hidden feelings for the girl. Hmm, I wonder if it's the same way vice versa."

From his desk, Tân pulled out a small notepad and a black pen. "I know that is going to be some vital information I need. If Drago does have feelings for her, when the girl is kidnapped then Drago will come running to the rescue. Continue."

"I asked him for some information from the magical gemstones but he declined to that too, saying he knew nothing about it. With my little magic I could tell Drago was lying, so I tried to took what information he had by force," the villain smiled as the memory of what he did. Tân wrote down the key points, nodding his head to the story.

"I was about to get something interesting when Drago conjured up some kind of mind protection spell. Apparently, his spell was strong enough to kick me out of his dreams indefinitely. I knew I should've used some good chi magic. Or I should've bribed him," Kimikaz mentally kicked himself.

Tân gave a doubting look at his partner, closing his notepad. "Speaking money-wise you did pay for all the damage done from that night break-in, right?"

"I paid for the last shipment of floor tiles when I returned. Did you do some investigation on who was the criminal behind it?"

"I tried to. Some of the evidence was covered up by the new windows and tiles you had bought. The criminals didn't leave any sort of trace from which I can track down from. Are you sure it wasn't Drago, Delya or any one of her friends who were trying to leave you a message?" Tân asked.

Kimikaz smoothed back his hair. "No. Delya only knows where the Golden Rainbow is. She doesn't know I'm connected to ZIK. On my MicroTalk, I heard an older woman and a girl talking. The voice on the phone did sound quite familiar. I just can't place my finger on where….."

"No need to worry, Kim. I have the perfect solution to your problem."

"To the break-in?"

"I'm talking about the problem with the whole Drago-and-Delya thing. While you were filling out extra paperwork and paying for the damages, Lola and Jun came to me with an excellent plan in mind. They had called their plan Operation: Capture The Flag," the elder chi wizard rubbed his hands together sinisterly.

"'Operation: Capture The Flag'? What is that?" The ZIK Inc. CEO burrowed his brows. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave his partner a look full of doubt. "Is this some kind of game because if it is—"

"I assure you, Kim, it's not a game," Tân proudly grinned. "If their plan works right, it should be an easy ZIK victory. The only downside is that it might take some time trying to put the plan into action. If we can't gain Delya's attention, there's always other ways."

* * *

"So the Red Ruby has revealed itself," Jade smiled. "Just when I thought my summer was beginning to get **boring**!" The Chan Clan was in Uncle's room in Section 13. Uncle's gemstone tracking device was going off, filling the room with a red aura.

"Aiyah! My Bǎoshí Léidá **[BOW-shee lay-DA]**!" Uncle exclaimed, shooting straight up from his chair.

"Is that what you named the device, Uncle?" Tohru turned to his former sensei. Uncle picked up his creation and peered closer at it.

"The name translates as 'Gem Radar'," Uncle explained.

"Uncle, didn't you use the Bǎoshí Léidá to search for the White Diamond and the Green Emerald?" Jade raised her brow. "Why is it so new now?"

"That was just a testing device, a cheap knock-off. **This** is the real deal," Uncle smiled and showed his genius creation off to his family. "Similar to a compass with an arrow, but contains a crystal in the middle to show what gem is discovered," Uncle said. Suddenly, the bright red aura turned itself on and off in a fast and violent manner. Finally it turned off.

"Well, it didn't work," Jackie observed. A swift hit on the head was afterwards.

"Ow!" came Jackie's familiar cry. Uncle grunted and banged his hand against the sides.

"Is it broken?" Jade gasped.

Uncle snorted at his niece with a frown. "_Of course_ it's not broken!" The Bǎoshí Léidá's small crystal turned itself back on as it flashed the same bright red like before.

"See?"

The small crystal fizzed out once again before coming back on. This time, it presented hologram of a desert-like land with small shrubs, sand and rocky hills all around.

"A desert?" Tohru looked over at Jackie.

"That place looks familiar. Where have I seen it?" Jade scratched her hair. Her amber eyes turned bright as she snapped her fingers.

"Of course! I've seen this in a textbook at school! That's—!"

"Death Valley. It's still in California and it's only eight hours away, so it'll be okay to drive," Jackie commented as he headed his way out Uncle's room door. "I'll go grab a quick change of clothes and ask Captain Black for a van. Death Valley gets hot around this time of year."

"I'll go and get a change of clothes too!" Jade exclaimed in a happy/determined voice.

"Bring the research books along! We are going to need them on the journey!" Uncle commanded his fellow chi wizard.

"Yes, Uncle," Tohru nodded and got straight to work grabbing the books he was reading. Just then, Delya and Jackie were coming the same way, bumping into each other and almost falling.

"Whoa, Jackie! Hold your horses!" She rubbed her head.

"Sorry Delya! Didn't see you there," the archaeologist profusely apologized, brushing the dust off his demon friend. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I noticed but no harm done. Where you headed off to now?"

"Death Valley. Uncle's new invention called the Bǎoshí Léidá found the Red Ruby there," the slightly exhausted Jackie exhaled.

"A gem radar, huh? Pretty clever name," the young woman approvingly nodded.

"I must get ready because Death Valley gets hot around this time of year. Are you coming along?"

"If that means meeting up with ZIK, the Ice Crew and those two teenage delinquent wizards, then **noooo** way!" Delya held up her hands and shook her head quickly. "I'd rather stay at Section 13, thank you very much. I've had enough of ZIK for a while."

"If you're staying here, then that means Jade can stay here too," Jackie put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. He looked up. "Delya, would you be willing to watch over Jade while Uncle, Tohru and I were gone?"

"I was actually going to go back home, but I guess that's fine with me. Are you scared of ZIK coming after her too?" the demon guessed nervously. She really wanted to go back home and clean up Aunti's room, but she couldn't do it while Jade was around. Provided Jade's sneaky nature, she could sneak upstairs and find Drago sleeping in Aunti's room. There was no way Delya could get out of this now.

"Not scared, just **worried** in a parental manner. And Jade doesn't really have anything actually fun to do in the summertime so maybe you babys—I mean,_watch over_ Jade and keep her company."

Delya sighed and finally shrugged. "Eh, why not? I guess it couldn't hurt."

Jackie eagerly shook Delya's hand with a wide grin. "Thank you so much. It's hard finding the proper help to keep Jade from trouble. You know how she's always finding a way to follow me."

Delya chuckled. "As long as the world's best archaeologist, researcher and super-secret Section 13 agent can bring home the Red Ruby, I'm alright with that."

* * *

_"_**_So_**_...you're out of the Demon Netherworld. How did you get out?" Aunti asked with a raised brow. The elder African was talking to Drago, and the both of them were sitting in a room that looked similar to the background of the sky. Aunti was meditating on a cloud, her eyes closed and she had her legs crossed under her dress. Drago was still in his pajama wear with his messy bed hair, dark circles under his eyes and all. He was sitting on the same cloud with his arms crossed tightly._

_"What's it to _you_?"_

_"It's vital information. And the fact that you are talking to my niece doesn't make the situation _any better_," Eva crossed her arms in front of her chest._

_"__So what__? Delya's not your true "blood-related" niece," Drago pointed out as with a sneer. "In fact, the both of you are complete opposites. You're a light chi wizard and she's a demon. The last time I checked, _**good chi wizards banish demons.**_"_

_"You don't have to be blood related to someone for you to be a family, you know," Aunti opened her eyes._

_Drago's truth was like a sharp arrow to the elder African's heart. This was the first time someone had said something so hurtful relating to Delya. Aunti has heard some vulgar things about her 'niece' in the past, but none of it had really mattered to her at the time. If Aunti didn't think Delya was in harm's way, the woman wouldn't of cared. Now Aunti was certain Delya was going to be in trouble, thanks to Drago._

_"You and Shendu are blood related, yet you are the _farthest_ from family," Aunti protested. Drago grunted._

_"And your point is _**_what_**_?" came from the dragon's sharp, clenched teeth._

_"What makes a family is trust, love, ups and downs and always having each other's backs. Delya had my back and I had hers," Aunti smiled weakly._

_"Oh yes. '__Had__' is the keyword," Drago snickered. The small smile on Aunti turned dim._

_"Unless you can find a way to magically _**_wake up_**_ from death," the dragon smirked._

_"You're right," Aunti replied with an uncomfortable shift in her cloud seat. Drago couldn't help but to laugh some more in seeing the chi wizard's anxiousness._

_"What's wrong? Did I make you nervous?" Drago gave a long, sneering look at the Ghanaian. "Don't tell me you're still mad at me after sending you to the hospital, grandma."_

_"Don't tell me you're still mad at Delya and I for ruining your plan of world domination, demon," Aunti taunted. She watched in smugness as Drago's smile turned downwards, going back to a frown. "I only want to return the favor, demon boy. Don't give me that look."_

_"Yes, laugh it up. It's _soooo_ funny to you, right?" the son of Shendu rolled his eyes in disgust. "You're lucky I don't have my fire chi, otherwise..." He stopped his threat mid-sentence, taking a quick seconds to get a good glance at his surroundings. All there was were many white clouds in their different shapes, the warm sunlight from above and or course, Aunti in front._

_"I want to know why I'm floating on a cloud in what looks like the sky?" the demon demanded with a dangerous look in his eyes. Aunti chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand._

_"But of course. Drago, you're on what I call my __turf__. By looking at you and your attire...," the woman looked up and down at the drained dragon, "You must be asleep, and in a deep slumber at that. Now I'm not sure how you got here. I only allow a select number of people to come here. You wouldn't be one of them."_

_Drago's crimson eyes narrowed in red slits. "I wouldn't like to be part of your select few, so you can keep the honor to yourself. And don't you dare try and lie to me."_

_"I'm not lying about anything. I'm telling you the truth and _nothing but_ the truth. Not my fault you're so hard-headed," the elder woman huffed._

_"Are you going to hurry up with this whole hallucination thing because this is getting really, _**_really_**_ tiring," Drago mumbled with a yawn._

_"'Hurry up'? I'm trying to save your life and _**_this_**_ is how you treat me?" said the elder in mock hurt. "I guess this is what I get for trying to help a destructive demon dragon."_

_"Real 'ha ha' funny. Like I was saying, you're lucky I don't have my demon chi on me, otherwise you'd be in a lot of trouble. Then he's next," a contempt Drago shook his fist._

_"Who is 'he'?" Aunti softened._

_"I barely know the guy. All I know is that his name is 'Mister Kim'."_

_"You're saying his name was 'Mister Kim'?"_

_"_**_I know what I heard_**_. They said 'Mister Kim'," the demon dragon snarled. Aunti gasped, holding her mouth with both hands. The only thing the elder could do was keep silent._

_"__The bastard__! First, he's got me and now it's you," Aunti huffed finally. She looked around nervously before turning back to Drago._

_"Wait, you know him?" Aunti clucked her teeth and shook her head in shame._

_"Sadly. But that's not important now. Come over here. Maybe I can help you get your fire powers back," the African motioned her hand forward. "How did he get you?"_

_"'Kim' got some magic friends to release me from the Demon Netherworld. Then, he and this dark wizard named Tân asked me if I wanted to join. When I declined, they got mad and tried to force me to work for them. They've been after me ever since," the dragon simply shrugged. Aunti was quiet, nodding her head as she listened to the story._

_"Why did you say no? I thought you would be delighted working at such a nice place like ZIK," Evangeline thought aloud._

_The dragon-turned-human shook his head. "I like telling people what to do, not getting ordered around."_

_"Oh really?"_

_"To make things worse, your 'niece' and I went to the mall today and we were attacked by Mr. Kim's ZIK business my former henchmen and two chi wizards," Drago revealed with a roll of his eyes. Aunti's eyes widened at the mention of Delya._

_"Your former henchmen? You mean those three boys the Ice Crew?"_

_"Who else could have the position of the Three Stooges? Wait, why am I telling you all this? I don't even like you," Drago snorted. Aunti let out a warm laugh._

_"On my turf, I can make you do anything I wish. I could make you dance like a chicken, I could make you fall out of your seat, I could make you eat your hair. I could make you do that Moonwalk dance that's really popular. You know, I'm really considering that last choice...," Aunti put a finger to her chin with a silly smile on her face. _

_Drago deepened his frown. __"Can you just give me my powers back?"_

_"Alright, alright. Kids these days always want to go somewhere in a hurry..." Aunti clucked her teeth. She stood up and stretched out her skirt, again motioning her hand forward. "Stand up."_

_"I can't."_

_Aunti stomped her foot angrily. "And _**_why not_**_?"_

_"I dunno. You must've frozen me or something," Aunti threw back her head and made a loud sigh._

_"I'm so tired," the elder complained. She got on her knees and leaned closer to Drago, releasing a deep exhale and shutting her eyes. Aunti placed her hands on Drago's cheeks._

_"Are you sure this will give me back my fire chi powers?" questioned Drago with a raised eyebrow. "I don't appreciate when old people are touching me."_

_"Hey, you should be thanking this old woman since she is nice enough to do you a favor!" Aunti placed her hands on her hips. "Now do you want your powers back or not?"_

_"Alright, alright. Just get on with it," rushed the demon._

_"Now I want you to trust me when I say this will give you back your powers. Unless you do something I tell you not to do," Aunti muttered. "Now close your eyes and take a deep breath. Don't move and don't open your eyes."_

_Aunti began to chant words Drago wasn't bothered to remember. She moved her thumbs up Drago's face and to his forehead. She softly rubbed her thumb around in circles. She moved her thumb down from Drago's forehead and to the dragon's lips. From there, Aunti placed her hands on Drago's hand and squeezed his palms as hard as she could. Finally, she flicked Drago's forehead and opened her eyes, standing up._

_"Alright, you got your powers back," she gave a friendly pat to the dragon. Drago shrugged her hand off his shoulder._

_"Okay, you can stop touching me now," he hissed. In response, Aunti put her hand on her hips, giving Drago a look of frustration._

_"You, _**_oh_**_..." She shook her fingers at the demon-turned human. "__You're very lucky I'm being nice to you. Otherwise, I'd make you do the most __embarrassing things__," she threatened with a low whistle. __"Tell me: how are you able to live in my house with this kind of attitude? How does Delya put up with all of this kind of nonsense of yours? You are absolutely impossible to work with!"_

_Drago gave a look of confusion to the wizard elder. "Delya's just fine. It's nice to know that you care, _grandma_."_

_Aunti threw up her hands and in frustration, her eyes growing wide. "Tchey! _Complete lies_ you are telling me! I was able to sense all of Delya's frustration rub off of you as I was giving you back your powers!"_

_"_**_How_**_?!"_

_"Ah, it's _common sense_! If you are frustrating me, then imagine how much trouble you give my poor girl! Ah, even as you sleep you are frustrating my niece. You are lucky I'm not there with you, otherwise you don't know what I'd do to you," Aunti shook her head in pity. __"Oy, _get off_ of my turf!" she ordered as she shoved Drago off her cloud. " As you are breathing the good air I am breathing, you make me mad."_

_"Wait, I want you to wake me up! I can't do it myself!" Drago pushed Aunti back. Thanks to his demon strength, he was pushing Aunti faster than she was pushing him._

_"You're going to have to figure that out on your own!" Aunti argued, pushing Drago again with more force. So much force that Drago was on the edge of the cloud, on the verge of falling._

_"Going down?" With a the push of her finger, the elder pressed Drago's chest and pushed him down._

_"What are you—AAAHHHH!" Aunti watched as Drago became farther and farther from her vision. When she couldn't see him anymore, she laughed haughtily. __"I'll see ya around, _**_partner_**."_ She turned around and flew upwards, not bothering to take a second look back._

* * *

"Reallyyyyyy?" Jade groaned with a toss back of her head.

"If Delya is staying here, so should you," Jackie shook his finger in his niece's face. "Besides, this is a dangerous mission and I don't want you getting hurt."

"_Uncle Jackieeee_, _you know_ I won't get hurt! I'm the cunning one of the Chan Clan! Emphasis of 'cunning'."

Jackie laughed at Jade's joke. "The Cunning One should save her cunningness and stay here. We're going to Death Valley and it's going to be very hot and very dangerous because I know ZIK Inc. is going to be there."

Jade pointed in the direction of the gemstone vault. "That's why you can bring the gemstones to fight them! They can't just sit there and look pretty all day!"

"Jade, we should talk about this later. Now is not the time to discuss this," Jackie said pushing his niece in Delya's direction. He shook the demon's hand in gratitude.

"Thanks again for volunteering to watch over Jade. And be careful; she's 'cunning'," the archaeologist quoted with a smirk. Delya giggled at that.

"I told you; don't worry. Everything will be under control. Jade won't escape from my supernatural eyesight, right kiddo?" Delya bent over to scrub Jade's hair. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Aiyah! We need to hurry! The dark forces wait for _no one_!" Uncle exclaimed, coming out of nowhere as he pulled his nephew by the ear.

"What did we discuss during family meeting?" Uncle asked. Jackie sighed at the question, because he knew exactly what he had to say.

"Don't always freak out," he deadpanned with a roll of his eyes. Jackie was able to make out a weak smile to his niece. "I will see you later tonight, Jade."

"Just make sure you come out in one piece," Jade called out after her uncle. As her uncle headed towards the van, Jade turned to Delya. "So Jackie told me we're going to your house."

"Yup," the demon dame nodded.

"Is there anything I can do in your house?" Jade looked up to her current caretaker.

Delya practically cringed hearing 'house'. _This is going to be so complicated_, she thought. Delya could feel the sweat beads collecting on her forehead and at her neck.

"Uhm, let's see. There's my computer, TV, lotsa food in the refrigerator," Jade ran in front of the demon and blocked Delya's path.

"Don't tell me that's it! Don't you have some artifacts to check out at your house?" Delya simply shrugged.

"Yes, but I just want you be careful with them. They're Aunt Eva's," the demon mumbled with a sniff.

"Sorry, sorry!" Jade quickly apologized. She hadn't meant to constantly remind Delya of her family's death. Delya nervously chuckled.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's all right. Don't feel so bad," the demon dame laid a reassuring hand on the Chinese girl's shoulder. "Let's just go to my house and have some girl time fun, eh? If you want, I have a lot of movies we can watch at home. You like comedy and action?"

* * *

"Jackie, the water in the canteen just ran out," Tohru reported to Jackie as he showed him the proof. He tipped the canteen over to see a small drop hit the soil.

"Aiyah! **How** could you finish all the water?! Uncle is parched already!" the elder wizard complained. "And how can Uncle track down the Red Ruby when he is _thirsty_?!" Uncle patted his growling stomach. "Not to mention being hungry."

"Uncle, it's alright. I brought more supplies enough for everyone," Jackie opened his pouch to show mung bean sandwiches and bottles of water inside. "We'll be okay as long as we can safely ration our food."

Uncle, Tohru and Jackie have been in Death Valley for two hours, going to three. Jackie carried the food supplies, Tohru carried some shovels (just in case there was some digging involved) and Uncle gave himself the job of leading the small group, since he created the Bǎoshí Léidá. The desert moon was high in the sky and the temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The three men were shivering, so they had brought some overcoats to warm themselves.

The Bǎoshí Léidá's small crystal began to furiously blink red, almost blinding Uncle. He took five large steps forward, his eyes fixed on his invention. Jackie and Tohru exchanged confused looks before following after the elder. For the following few minutes, the desert was deathly quiet. Uncle preferred it like this because it helped him to better concentrate.

"Are we getting close to the Red Ruby's location?" Jackie brushed the sand from his sweaty face. The Chinese man threw his hand sup in the air in frustration. "We've been out here for quite a long time and all the Bǎoshí Léidá has done is glow red! Is this even the real Red Ruby? I mean, the way the gem radar was acting is very...euh..._suspicious_," Jackie was starting to wish he had stayed in Section 13. Uncle stopped walking and pointed a threatening finger at Jackie.

"Uncle needs you to be quiet! You are already stressing him out in the hot desert as is! When we get the Red Ruby, then you will have permission to speak!" Uncle scolded, before turning back to his device. Tohru placed his hand on his former teacher's shoulder.

"The Red Ruby must be somewhere around here," the elder wizard marveled. He snapped his fingers at Tohru and Jackie in a commanding manner. "Jackie! Bring me bottled water!"

The archaeologist did as he was told, pulling out a water bottle from his knapsack and handed it to Uncle, keeping silent the whole time. Uncle spun the top open and poured water onto the gem radar.

"Jiang, what are you doing?" Tohru couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at with his former sensei was doing. The last time water was on a magical device, it soaked the chi-o-matic and it didn't exactly work.

"I do not believe putting water on the Bǎoshí Léidá is going to help look for the Red Ruby, Uncle," the Japanese man tried to protest. Jackie tried to do the same, but remembered how he could not talk. Uncle didn't answer; he bottled the water back up and gave it back to Jackie. The magical gem radar started to spin slowly around.

"It's working..." Uncle cracked a smile. The speed began to pick up and go faster. It picked up so much speed that it began to levitate from Uncle's strong grasp, glowing red the whole time. Jackie's eyes went wide and his mouth gaped. Tohru followed.

"The Bǎoshí Léidá is **levitating**!" Jackie finally gasped. He was lucky he didn't get hit by an Uncle slap because Uncle wasn't paying much attention to him.

"Hotcha! Uncle's idea **worked**!" he happily rubbed his hands together. The Bǎoshí Léidá leaned away from the men, flying off in the desert.

"Wait! Come back!" Jackie cried with his hand out. He received a fierce Uncle slap.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Uncle said you don't have permission to talk until we get the Red Ruby! Only he give you permission to speak!" the elder wizard scolded.

"Uncle Jiang, we have more important matters to worry about!" Jackie cried as he pointed at the flyaway invention.

"U-Uncle..." Tohru stammered and pointed in the direction of where the gem radar left. "After the Bǎoshí Léidá!"

* * *

"Okay Jade. There's Spy Kids, Rush Hour, Osmosis Jones, Shanghai Noon or Rush Hour 2. These are some of good movies from the last year or two," Delya said as she laid out all the DVD covers. Jade's face light up looking at the cover of the movies.

"Let's see. I've seen Osmosis Jones as school, so that's out," Jade moved that DVD out of the way. "I've already seen Spy Kids with Jackie and Uncle. It was cool."

"What about Shanghai Noon? I've heard a lot of good things about this movie," Delya pointed to the movie DVD.

"Read it to me."

"Meet Wong Chan, a Chinese man who travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the duo work together to take on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss. The movies stars the actors Rockie Khan, Will Jonson and Kacy Wu," the demon dame read off the back. She hoping they would get to watch that one.

"Hmm...Rockie Khan and Kacy Wu are some of my favorite actors," Jade mumbled. "Is there any other movies with Rockie Khan?"

The young woman took the Rush Hour movies hand in hand, looking between the both of them. "What's left is Rush Hour 1 and 2. I've heard some good things about these movies. The Rush Hour film series are a martial arts/action/comedy movies that stars Rockie Khan and Mike Pecker. It's about a pair of cops that go on misadventures together involving corrupt criminal figures. I've seen the first ten minutes of the first Rush Hour movie one time, but that was it."

"Then let's watch the Rush Hour movies!" Jade exclaimed with a stand. "I'll go and get popcorn and some snacks. You do have snacks in your house, right?"

"Course I do! I'll get them from upstairs. You just worry about getting the popcorn and drinks. When I bring my snacks down, I'll set up the DVD player."

Delya got up from the living room and jogged up the stairs while Jade ran into the kitchen. She couldn't help but stop and look around. The room had a light and warm smell of cinnamon. It looked rather homey and very spacious. Jade went over to an open kitchen closet and grabbed two bags of popcorn. She put one in the microwave and pressed the 'popcorn button'.

"I never realized how big Delya's house was. I don't know what I'd do to live in a nice-smelling house like this. It's a refreshing change from smelling mung-beans, garlic and moth balls," Jade chuckled to herself. She skipped over to the fridge and grabbed a can of Coke and Pepsi. Just then, Delya came down the stairs holding a basket full of sweets.

"Alright, some of this stuff is half finished, but it's still good. I have Skittles, some M&amp;M's, some sour gummy worms, Sweetarts, Twizzlers, Air Heads—"

"Whoa, whoa. Waitaminute. Why do you have so much candy?" Jade asked with a raised eyebrow. Delya nervously bit her lip and shrugged.

"Uh, I have a sweet tooth," the demon sat down criss-cross in front of the TV. She set down her candy basket and opened the DVD player to Rush Hour.

"Heh, usually Jackie doesn't let me eat any kind of sweet. It kinda sucks," the girl winced. "Besides, I don't exactly have all the time to have fun for myself."

"Hey, it's alright. Like I said before, this right here is girl time. What the fellows out in the Death Valley don't know won't hurt 'em. Besides, it's just a couple of sweets."

"Yeah, more like a basket full," Jade chuckled as she had taken two Air-Heads. Delya could only shrug with a simple smile on her face.

"Blame my sweet tooth."

* * *

"Jackie, get my Bǎoshí Léidá and **hurry down**!" Uncle cupped his hands. Him and Tohru stood near a rather tall looking tree. Jackie was at the very top of the tree on one of the branches, the same thick branch where the magical item was embedded in.

"I'm trying to, Uncle, but the this tree is too slippery!" answered the archaeologist. He had never expected for such a magical item to start flying from his Uncle's hands and to fly off. It wasn't exactly Jackie's worst nightmare, but this 'gem searching' quest wasn't a piece of cake too.

"Now I wish I had brought Delya. She would've easily grabbed the gem radar with a jump flip or something. It's too hot outside to be climbing trees," Jackie mumbled. He looked down at the Bǎoshí Léidá, only to cover his eyes because of the contraception's bright red light.

"Okay, I think I can do this," the Asian man grabbed the large handle of the device and pulled upwards. From below, Tohru knew something about the picture looked wrong.

"Jackie...," the large man trailed off, pointing upwards. The thick branch began to crack, only Jackie couldn't hear it.

"Jackie..." Tohru murmured.

"Hold on," the Chinese man struggled. "I almost got it..."

"Jackie, the branch!" Tohru warned.

Right on time, the tree branch made a fatal crack behind Jackie. He stopped what he was doing and looked back to see the branch in mid-break.

"Oh no."

Before he knew it, he was falling from the tree and fell with a terrible crash on the sand. The Bǎoshí Léidá and the branch fell with him.

"Are you all right, Jackie?" Tohru rushed over to help a dazed Jackie up.

"No broken bones," the archaeologist briefly touched his body to see if there was anything wrong. He handed the gem radar to Uncle.

"You didn't find the Red Ruby?" Uncle raised his brow.

Jackie shook his head and shrugged. "I didn't see anything but wood, leaves and the Bǎoshí Léidá. Sorry."

Uncle bowed his head sadly, taking a pitiful and tired look at his gizmo. "It can't be! Why would the Bǎoshí Léidá fly off and get stuck in a tree, only to find nothing but branches and leaves?!"

"Ow!" exclaimed the archaeologist. He turned to Uncle. "Why'd you hit me? What did I do?"

The good wizard gave his nephew a look of suspicion before speaking. "Uncle did not hit you."

"If you didn't hit me_—_" Jackie trailed off with a look at Tohru. "Did _you_ hit me?"

"I did not." In the corner of his eye, Tohru noticed a small brilliant shine. He took two small steps back before looking down.

"Is that—?" the Japanese man bent down to take a good look. It _**was**_what he thought it was.

"Jackie, look down. It's the Red Ruby!" Jackie looked down and his eyes went wide.

"So it was the _Red Ruby_ that fell on me," the Chinese man looked up in the tree. There was a dented area in the wood that was hidden by the large leaves. To Jackie this was out of the ordinary, and the archaeologist already knew what out of the ordinary was.

"That's weird. I wonder why it didn't come down when I fell from the tree..." the Chinese man picked up the red jewel and looked up at the dry tree.

"Feh! No matter!" Uncle waved his hand dismissively. "We found the Red Ruby, so stop complaining! All that is left is the dark chi removal spell and lots of research!"

Tohru slightly groaned, his eyebrows burrowing. "The real trouble will come once we have to remove the dark spell from the gemstone. Oh, I don't like that."

"But we can go home now," Jackie said with a wipe of his sweaty forehead. "This heat is worse than the normal heat in San Francisco."

"You ain't goin' **nowhere**, dawg." Not too far in front of them stood StrikeMaster Ice and to his left and right were his friends MC Cobra and DJ Fist. Jun, Lola and Tân stood beside them, ready to attack with their chi weapons.

"Jackie Chan. Jiang," Tân acknowledged his enemies by nodding to them. He gave Tohru a look of confusion. "...Uncle's follower."

Tohru crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the chieftain wizard, his frown deepening. "My name is Tohru, not 'Uncle's follower'."

"Whatever. Just hand over the Red Ruby and no one gets hurt." From his pocket, he took out a big wad of cash from his pocket and showed it off.

"_I thought _we told you that we don't _want your money_," Jackie balled his fists. A bad feeling was beginning to form fast in his stomach. Usually, his bad feelings came true.

"Not even if we double it? Triple it even? I know my partner would be very interested in having the Red Ruby," came Tân's deal.

"And **who is** your partner?" Uncle glared at his former friend.

"Just take the cash, dawg!" Cobra cupped his mouth with his hands. He then nudged his friend Ice in the stomach playfully. "I know I would take that cash any day, yo."

"Heh, same here," Ice agreed.

"Man, that's none of your business! Now hand over that gem or you're going to regret it!" Jun snarled. He whipped out his dark chi weapon.

"Then you're going to get _a piece of Uncle_!" Uncle rolled up his sleeves and held up his fist.

"Yo this is just like old times, except for shrimp and De-Girl not being here. I guess she and D-Man got scared from our ZIK attack," Ice mumbled as he punched his fist into his open palm. "Get ready to throw down!"

"Three against six? That's hardly fair," Jackie commented.

"You could've made it fair if you had given up the Red Ruby already," Lola replied, but in a softer and less competitive tone than her colleagues. DJ Fist smacked his fist into his open palm and snarled.

"DJ's right. We've done enough talking. You've denied our request and now we're going to take the Red Ruby by force!" Jun nodded. He fired at Jackie, along with Tân and Lola at Uncle and Tohru. The Ice Crew charged at Jackie with their silly noises and all.

"AH!" Seeing the four young men made Jackie run away. MC Cobra dashed in front of the archaeologist and tried to high kick his head. Jackie ducked, and eventually dodged Ice's flying kick. He hit Cobra's chest, knocking them both back.

"Watch who you hittin' man!" Cobra shook his head at his friend.

"If Chan didn't move out da way, I wouldn't have ta hit you!" Ice complained. Jackie sheepishly waved at them.

"Sorry about that! Yah!" He nearly jumped a mile trying to miss Jun's dark chi blasts.

"Stay _still_, will ya?!"

"SorryIcannotdothatforyou**thankyou**!" Jackie rambled on. He jumped over Jun and kicked the adolescent in the back. Jun was sent flying but not before he threw a ray of dark energy at Jackie's stomach. The archaeologist went sent flying back into a tree. "Oh..." he groaned, touching his lower back area. Bad day, bad day."

DJ Fist darted forward with his tightly balled fist. He attempted to punch Jackie, but Jackie rolled out from the space in between his legs missed. As a result, DJ narrowly missed him and hit the tree. The tree slightly shook, some leaves fell. Once Jackie crawled out from under DJ, he accidentally pushed Jun to the ground while trying to stand up. In return, the young dark wizard shot a blast aiming for Jackie's chest.

"AH!" he jumped out the way. The blast hit DJ, knocking him back so far where he tripped over the broken tree branch from earlier.

"Okay, okay. Maybe we all can talk about this. There's an easier way to settle our disagreements other than fighting," Jackie held his hands up in a surrendering motion. The Ice Crew and Jun surrounded the archaeologist. He knew they were ready to attack at any moment.

"I thought we was done talkin', dawg," Cobra punched his hand in his fist. The four men charge at Jackie at the same time, ready to crush him with their strength. Jackie made a gracious leap out of the way.

"What the—?!" cried the four men at the same time. As a result, they all crashed into each other headfirst.

"Ow..." Jackie smirked at his success to evade them, but immediately hid his satisfaction seeing his enemies rise up again.

"Bwah!" he cried. The only thought that roamed through Jackie's mind was the word 'run'. That's exactly what he did.

On the other side of the tree, Tohru and Uncle were having their own battles against Tân and Lola. Uncle and his so-called 'traitor friend' looked as if they were about to tear each other apart. Lola and Tohru didn't seem so eager to do the same.

"So we meet once again, Jiang," Tân smirked. He blasted a dark energy ray at Uncle, in which Uncle was ready to deflect.

"Yes, only this time, you are getting a piece of Uncle **for sure**!"

"You don't stand a chance against me!" Tân taunted.

"Uncle is not so sure about that," the elder smirked. Right behind Uncle, Tohru dodged a sharp good chi ray from Lola. He raised his brow at the girl before stopping.

"W-W-Why'd you stop?" Lola angrily stammered. She backed away quickly, ready to fire off another blast.

"It...It just doesn't make any sense to me," Tohru stammered.

"What doesn't make any sense to you?" Lola gulped.

Tohru sadly sighed with his head down. "I don't understand how you are a good chi witch...yet you work for ZIK Incorporated, which is a bad business. Why?" Tohru shrugged. The Filipina stopped, her shoulders tensing up. The questions echoed in the young woman's head. Lola could feel her heartbeat grow louder and the blood rush to he ears. She began to blush and frowned.

"Don't you miss your family back home? Don't you want to go home to the Philippines?" Tohru pressed on. Lola's eyes widened.

"How did you know about the Philippines?! Delya must've told you," Lola frowned in disgust. "I'm gonna get her for that next time..."

"Delya didn't know that, but I learned a lot about you," the Japanese man shook his head.

"Y-You don't need to worry about me! Now c'mon, let's just fight already!" Lola growled. She fired off a blast past Tohru's head, but he did not budge.

"I do not want to harm you. I am a new fully-turned chi wizard and you are still an apprentice," the large man backed away.

"I don't care about status'!" Lola fired a green ray at Tohru. He deflected the ray with a blocking spell.

"You must quit working at ZIK! A skilled chi witch such as yourself doesn't need to be helping such a bad business!" the Japanese man argued.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Lola widened her ray, pushing Tohru back with more force. Any moment now and Tohru would fall over.

"It is not an order, but a helpful suggestion. I used to be like you once," Tohru confessed. Hearing this, Lola stopped. She lowered her head, finding herself blushing harder.

"I..."

"You don't really feel comfortable working at ZIK, do you? With Tân, Jun, and the Ice Crew and all?" Tohru asked. He knew his questions were getting to his good wizard enemy on an emotional level.

Tohru knew he was the only person who believed that deep inside, LoAna Haku was a good person. Jun Shields, maybe not so much. But he was sure about what his gut was telling him. She seemed like a young woman with a nice family and no criminal records so far. Tohru believed the only reason why Lola was doing this was because she only wanted to find the truth to the mystery behind her dead father.

Back when Tohru worked for the Dark Hand, he joined because he needed to money to support himself and his mother. He remembered the bittersweet moment when his mother first came to see him after he quit the Dark Hand. Tohru shivered, remembering how his mother referred to Valmont and the Dark Hand as a good company. It wasn't her fault for not knowing the truth, but it still hurt Tohru when his mother mentioned how he went from the nice life to the shabby life in Uncle's shop. Luckily, Tohru was able to tell his mother about his experience working for the Dark Hand. That would explain why she was so protective and clingy on Tohru whenever he was about to fight the forces of evil.

"How would **you** know?" Lola asked softly. Her magic drumstick's green chi died.

"Like I said, I used to be like you once. I once worked for a crime syndicate, in which a bad man was in charge who followed orders of a Chinese demon dragon. Thanks to Jackie Chan, I now do honest and humble work and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Tohru felt something bony and hard hit his back. When he turned around, he saw Uncle lying on the ground beside him, not looking too good.

"Sensei!" Tohru bent over to help the elder up, only to be hit with a strong chi blast to the back. The energy blast was so strong Tohru couldn't help but the tip over, falling face first to the sand.

"Oooh..." he muttered. He could fell himself slipping and his eyesight fading.

_Am I...dying?_ he sadly thought. Before he was about to succumb, he glanced upwards to see a blurry figure of Lola staring at him. Meanwhile, Jackie tried to deliver a flying sidekick to DJ, only for the powerhouse to grab the man's legs and slam his back to the sand.

"Ow!" From the archaeologist's current position, he could see Lola and Tân triumphantly standing over an unconscious Uncle and Tohru.

"Uncle! Tohru!" He cried. Jackie's panicked cries out to his friends only amused the Ice Crew.

"Chan down! Nice one, bro!" Cobra high-fived a smirking Fist.

"Too bad De-Girl and yo shrimp niece ain't here. We woulda finished dem off fo'sho," a victorious Ice crossed his arms over his chest.

Jackie could feel the anger inside him begin to boil once he heard Ice mention his niece. He made a swift sweeping kick to all three of the boys. Once the three were down, Jackie was left to deal with Jun.

"Don't you have family and friends to come home too? Why are you working at ZIK?" Jackie asked. "As a nineteen year old, you should have better things to do than to help an evil crime syndicate."

"Why do **you** care about my well-being?" he retorted. He hit Jackie in the shoulder with a chi blast, almost tipping him over.

"Jun Shields looks like a nice young man. Besides, you wouldn't want to get involved in any of this. You're working in a crime syndicate for crying out loud!" Jackie touched his injured shoulder. Jun gave him a suspicious eye.

"How did you know—oh yeah, you took my ID card." he crossed his arms. He walked over to try and capture Jackie, only for the martial artist to get up again.

"I'm old enough to make my own choices now! I don't need an archaeologist to tell me what to do!" Jun folded his magic pocket knife and held his fists out, ready to fight. Jackie was about to deliver to first kick punch when he felt a foot slam into his chest. The shock and pain from the hit made Jackie flail forward and fall on his face. From there, he felt two arms and two legs grab him from behind and pull him up by his neck.

"You ain't goin' nowhere!" Ice smirked. From Jackie's pocket, he picked out the Red Ruby and threw it to Tân, who was walking up towards a struggling Jackie.

"You're Tân, aren't you?" a glaring Jackie stopped to catch his breath.

The chieftain wizard mockingly clapped. "Ah yes. The name game. You know my name, I know yours."

"The Red Ruby is not yours! It belongs in a museum, or somewhere away from people like you!"

"You do-gooders never learn," Tân huffed. Before he could give Jackie a chance to protest, Tân raised his staff and struck the archaeologist with his cane to the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Alright then. They're all down according to plan." In the distance, there was five black vans that shone in the bright sunlight. 'ZIK' was on its front license plate. The automobile stopped and parked, letting armed men in black uniform step out and head their way. Jun was the first to see this.

"Hey, we've got company!" he cheered. He turned to Lola. "They're on our side, right?"

"Jeez, I dunno. With the ZIK logo painted on the front license car plate and the familiar, uniformed men coming our way, I honestly can't tell if those men are on our side," she replied sarcastically, added with a sassy arm cross.

Jun felt the blood rush to his ears hearing this. "What?! I'm just wanting to make sure they're not part of Jackie Chan and friends."

"Nevermind."

"Load the men up and put them in the truck," Tân ordered the men. "I know Kimikaz will be very happy to hear this."

"Tch, **yeah**. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have succeeded," Ice proudly said. Lola opened her mouth to protest, but had remembered what had happened the last time.

"I'm not even going to bother this time," she muttered. The young woman turned to an unconscious Tohru. She couldn't help but feel guilty seeing his pained, sleeping face. This was the first time Lola and Tohru had actually spoken face-to-face, yet Tohru seemed to be reading her like a book. _How does he know so much about me?_ she wondered. Lola never thought that being a chi wizard means that you can know about a certain person.

_If he did know a lot of about me, then he would know that I don't really want to join ZIK in what they do. _I can't stand them_! I'm only doing this to support my family and find my dad!_ Lola had never expected for her time at ZIK to be so problematic. All the young wizard thought it was going to be was just doing simple work for a few years and then to come home and act like nothing happened.

_So far, way more has happened in this summer alone than my whole three and a half years at ZIK. The break-in that happened at ZIK some time ago, I'm now wanted by the San Francisco police, I broke criminals out of jail, I've been going from place to place across the globe looking for stupid magical gemstones, I'm hurting innocent people I don't even know about. What _am_ I? What have I become? When I first came to ZIK Incorporated, it was nice; there was hardly any kind of serious drama. Now everything's getting serious and I don't like it._

Lola sadly watched as the men placed Jackie and Uncle on stretchers before loading them onto separate trucks. She took an awkward glance at the ground. The corners of his eyes watered.

_I wish I could quit, but I can't. I have to do my time. Besides, Mr. Kim would get mad if I even attempted to quit chi wizardry. I want to go home. I want everything to be nice and quiet again. I don't want to be a chi wizard working at ZIK anymore. __I just want to be a _normal girl_._

**A/N: AHA! Epic cliffhanger, no? Stay tuned for the next chapter because this crazy train isn't going to stop yet!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Before I start, I want to apologize for putting this story on hiatus. This chapter was hard to write, so I took a very long time trying to get it right. I used my hiatus to go back and do some self-revising before continuing. Some of the changes are minor changes while others aren't so minor. Oh, and happy holidays to everyone!**

"Delya? Wake up!" Jade struggled to wake her demon friend awake. This was the third time Jade had to do that and frankly, she was getting tired of it.

"Hunh? Say what?" Delya's head shot up from her arms. She was in her black pajama tank top and her long and over-sized pants. She was practically ready to go to bed any time. "What happened?"

"We're only half way through the Rush Hour movie and you're falling asleep already! Really?" the Chinese girl exclaimed, shaking Delya's head.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm juzt zo sleepy," she mumbled, trying to hold her head. Delya never expected for her to be so tired so easily. For some reason, the demon was awake and now she felt like taking a good nap, just like Drago.

"This is the third time I had to wake you up. I thought you said you were going to stay awake!" the girl complained.

"I'm trying to, but I'm sleepy..."

"Was it the attack at the mall that made you tired? Are you sure you didn't get hit with a knockout pill by ZIK?" Jade began to check around Delya to see if she had a dart stuck in her and she didn't know it.

"No, but the mall did give me a massive headache," Delya moved her dangling hair out of her drained face. She could feel the headache pounding away. What she wouldn't give for a headache remedy.

"Where's Jackie? Why hasn't he come back from his mission yet?" the Asian turned towards the door for any sign of her family.

"You know how crazy his missions are. He'll show up sometime soon," Jade cheered for her uncle. She took out her phone and put speed-dialed Jackie's number, pressing the phone to her ear. The rings of the phone went by, one by one.

"Hello! Jackie Chan here! As you can see, I am busy and can't come to the phone right now. Please leave your message in my inbox and I will get back to you as soon as possible." The message ended with a ring and Jade answered.

"Hey Jackie, when are you coming home? You've been out for half a day and Delya is starting to doze off. Bring home the Red Ruby, wouldja?" The Chinese girl pressed the 'End' button and shoved the phone back in her pocket. Again, she pushed Delya's elbows.

"Can you at least try and stay awake for the next 50 minutes?" Jade whined. Delya let out a long yawn.

"You know Jade, I admire your youth. Because of that so-called youth, you're pretty hyperactive. But don't let your hyperactivity get to me."

"Does that mean I can sleep on your couch when the movies are over?" she called to Delya, who was heading upstairs.

"Sure, whatever. Probably before then Jackie should come home. If not, there's some spare blankets and pillows in the laundry room."

_Ding dong! _the doorbell rang. Delya jolted herself awake and glared in the direction of the door.

"The doorbell," she rolled her eyes. "Man, I just want to get to bed."

The young women slowly stalked over to her door with a yawn and toss of her messy hair. She swung open the door and stuck her head outside. "Whaddya want?"

When she was actually able to open her eyes, the demon noticed that there was no one outside. All that was left was large box package covered in nice gift wrap.

"Hmm..." Delya walked outside and looked around her front porch. All that she saw outside was her neighborhood, the starry night sky and the bright moonlight shining down.

"So no one's here," the girl scratched the back of her head. With a final toss of her bedhead, she picked up the package and turned around back inside. She gave one more suspicious look to the outside world before shutting and locking her house door.

"Who was that?" Jade called, her eyes still fixed on the TV.

"Exactly. All that was left for me was a gift-wrapped package on my doorstep. I think the mailman forgot to give it to me earlier on today," Delya commented as she peered closer at the passage.

"Ugh. The package was meant for Aunti. This package must've come way too late. To make it worse, this package doesn't even have an address for a return ticket!" Delya tossed the light delivery over to Jade.

"You can open it because I definitely do not want to open whatever that is," the demon pointed to the box in disgust. Jade gulped and made a nervous shrug.

"I'll be okay opening this." The pre-teen lied through her teeth. She was feeling like Delya, but on a lower level. She grabbed the side of the package, violently ripped the gift wrap off and opened the box. She picked up a folded piece of paper and opened it.

"Clothes? Maybe the person did know about it," Delya muttered. She flipped the box upside down, letting the clothes pour out.

"A leather jacket? That's it? Did Aunt Eva give the person all this? Did she design this stuff and I didn't know it?" Delya turned to her young friend. Jade was busy silently reading the note, for what seemed like word for word. She was a fast reader, so this was the second time Jade was looking over the note.

"...And everything contains the initials 'A.R.' There's A.R. on the jacket, on the wristbands, on the headbands, in the left corners of the jacket and the shirt. I'm thinking that 'A.R.' might be the name of a store. It's probably a gift for their late customer," Jade guessed. The 'A.R.' was in a blue and cursive font. Behind the letters was a rose that was the same color as the printed letters.

"I have to say; even though this stuff isn't mine, it's pretty stylin'," Delya marveled at the clothes. She put the leather jacket on.

"De, you need to read this," Jade cleared her throat before reading off the letter for the third time.

"Say what now?"

_Evangeline,_

_It's been so long since the last time I've seen you! I'm afraid I can't directly reveal who I am, so I'll give you a hint. Remember the first night we met, when you were invited to my birthday party with my little bro? I had to practically _drag_ you inside to have a good laugh. For some reason, the two of us started our fast friendship. We were kinda like Yin and Yang. I was there for you when your tikyani **[tee-CHON-ee; teacher]** passed and you were there for me when my sister and my parents passed. Through the good times and the bad times, we let nothin get in-between us. _

_One day, I left. You probably thought I committed suicide because it seemed like I had disappeared off the face of the planet. I can only imagine how distressed you were over me. I deeply apologize for making you think that way. __But at the time, I had to leave for some other family business I had to take care of. I was gone for quite a long time and once again, I deeply apologize for that. For a long time, I felt as if I could feel your pain when I was away. That did it; I decided to come back and make up for it by apologizin and explainin everythin that caused me to be away. When I did, it was your turn to disappear. I thought you were furious at me for leaving you high and dry and I completely understand how you feel._

_If ya ever feel up to it one day, I want you to try and find me. We've learned so much from each other in the past that I'm sure you know where to find me, since I did find you. We've been away from one another for so long, all I just want to do with you is have a good ol', one-on-one, catch-up chat. When that happens, I want you to please bring the jacket. That lets me know that you've accepted my offer. From there, we decide when and where. I hope you will be able to accept my offer. If not, I understand and will leave you alone. _

_\- I_

"So Aunti didn't make these clothes," Jade figured. With that, Delya took off the A.R. jacket and dropped it back inside the box.

"What kind of person ends a note with a letter?" Delya rolled her eyes in a mix of tiredness and disgust.

"The guy who left this was Aunt Eva's best friend. He must've known about what happened. Why else bring the jacket to this address?" Jade answered the rhetorical question.

"And why did this guy leave?" Delya burrowed her thick eyebrows. This mystery that was continuing to revolve around this letter was killing Delya. Where was her aunt and her most beloved guardian when she needed her?

Delya re-read the letter, her eyes quickly skimming over the words. When she was finished, her eyes lowered to the floor with an ashamed look. Reading the letter again struck an emotional heart string deep inside of her. The portion of the letter reminded her of Drago for some odd reason. The girl didn't know where that had come from. She despised Drago, at least she thought she did. Delya felt the blood quickly rise to her cheeks. She folded the letter and put it back in the box.

"You know what, Jade? You have fun watching the Rush Hour movies," Delya frowned. "I'm hitting the hay early."

"But I thought you were going to stay here and continue to watch the movie!" came Jade's protest. The demon shook her head 'no' before continuing to head back up the stairs.

"I'm not in the mood for comedy anymore."

* * *

Ice and DJ were unloading Uncle from his van, Tân and Cobra were unloading Tohru (with the help of magic of course), and Lola and Jun were busy trying to unload Jackie from his van. It was mostly Jun doing the work with Lola sitting and watching him.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? You're not helping me unload Jackie from the van," Jun said with a grunt. "I don't know if it's just me or if it's that these stretchers are really heavy."

"It might be just you," Lola laughed. She got up and took the other end of the stretcher, strolling it out of the van.

"I take that as an insult," Jun replied with a smile.

"You know I'm just kidding," Lola returned with a harder laugh. Through Lola's laughter, Jun could see the despair in her green eyes. He silently stared at her for a while before asking, "So what's on your mind? You've been pretty quiet."

"Mm, nothing. It's nothing," the Filipina shook her head. "You don't need to worry about it."

"C'mon Lola. We've known each other for quite a while. You saying it's nothing is different than how you feel. Did the Chans hurt you?" Jun set his part of the stretcher down and unknowingly placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Of course not. I was barely touched in the fight," Jun's gesture made Lola turn a light tomato red. It was actually touching to the chi witch to hear that Jun was worried for her well-being.

"It's just something Tohru said to me while we were fighting. It's..er...complicated. It's weird actually."

"You know I'm up for weird stuff. Mind letting me know some?" Jun edged with a playful smirk.

"While we were fighting, Tohru told me he used to be like me. He worked at a crime syndicate who had a boss who worked for a demon," Lola muttered. She stood still, waiting for Jun's answer.

"Come again?" Jun asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tohru used to work at a crime syndicate who had a boss that worked for a demon. It seems..euh...rather believable. Remember that rumor about that Dark Hand syndicate failing because of some supernatural occurrence? Still, I'll kinda skeptical."

Jun eyed his friend suspiciously. "Are you sure you heard right or are you on drugs?"

Lola frowned, knowing this would be an outcome. She felt her ears and her face get hot. "I am not on drugs! I know what I heard."

Jun stopped to gain a half serious face at his co-worker. "I may be a chi wizard in training, but there's no way I'm falling for that. Why would someone work for a demon?" Lola blushed, looking away from his gaze.

"I don't know."

"I really hope you're not being naive about this. There's no doubt about it in my mind that Tohru is just playing you. He's just saying to get the final drop on you. The Chan guy said something like that to me. He was like, 'You shouldn't be a bad guy because you have so much more potential'. I didn't listen to him and look at me now."

"The only thing I'm looking at is your hard head and ego and I have to say I'm not impressed," Lola pointed out. To prove her point, she knocked the side of Jun's head for effect.

"I'm just saying you can't let your guard down so easily when in battle. Please don't sympathize with the enemy. Sometimes, you don't have to listen to what people say. You have to form your own kind of opinion than just bandwagon on others thoughts," the male wizard stared at his fellow witch.

"I'll believe what I want to believe! I am not crazy. Why are you always so pessimistic?" Lola snapped.

"I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist."

"And if you're a realist, then tell me why you're a chi wizard again?" the Filipina crossed her arms defiantly. Jun froze. He almost let go of his strong grasp on the stretcher. Lola noticed the paleness in the young man's face.

"Well...well, that's because I'm a realist to a certain degree. I'm a chi wizard in training but it doesn't make sense as to why a demon would be in charge of a syndicate."

"See, I shouldn't have told you anything. You always blow something way out of proportion. Thanks for proving my theory right," the girl whipped her hair from her hair and into Jun's.

"Theory about what?" Jun hardened his gaze at the girl. Lola pushed open the doors and held it open for her friend to bring Jackie in. Before she realized it, what felt like a small, fork tongue briefly licked against the tip of her nose. She has to blink to realize what was going on.

"Whoa!" She shrieked, almost falling into Jun.

"Come now, Lola. Don't tell me you're afraid of Nagi," he pointed to his black pet snake sitting on his shoulders. Nagi again flicked his forked tongue out, seemingly in satisfaction at seeing the scared girl. The snake had almost blended into his master's clothing. Kimikaz was proudly standing inside with his hands behind his back. He had his famous, genius smirk on his face painted on his face. It was usually the smile he wore whenever he was able to get his way.

"Oh, it's him. I forgot about him," the woman lightly touched the chest area over her heart. Lola hated how the snake always was able to sneak up on her like that. In fact, she hated snakes.

"Good work, you two. Put Chan downstairs on Ground Floor Level 2, with the rest of his friends. I need you to do something for me later on," the businessman beamed. As Jun watched his boss, he felt satisfied that he was able to make him happy. It was rarely during the job at ZIK where he could personally witness Kimikaz truly happy. Whenever Lola saw Kimikaz's grin, she felt as if something tragic had happened somewhere in the world. Whether it was his fault or not, it didn't matter. To her, Kimikaz's grin always equaled destruction. He was like a demon to the young woman trapped in a rich, human form. Seeing Nagi made the thought grow worse.

"What exactly are you going to do with Jackie and his friends downstairs?" Jun asked. He was hoping no serious damage would be done to them. He wasn't as destructive as his boss.

"For the time being, Chan and his friends will be kept in their cells until I decide what I want to do with them. When you guys are finished putting our hostages in their cells, I have a task for both of you individually." From his suit pocket, Kimikaz pulled out the Red Ruby and placed it gently in the Filipina's hand.

"You're giving me the Red Ruby?"

"But of course. Since you are the only light chi witch I can actually trust, I want you to use your magic to remove the dark chi spell from the gem. Once done, I want you to take this thing over to the test field to test its powers, then report to me," the businessman said. Lola put her head down and finally sighed. She turned to face Jun.

"As for my theory...you're just as dense as the people you hang out with." Finally, the young woman turned around and went inside, turning a corner. Jun confusedly stared after the young woman, completely at loss of words. Kimikaz turned back to his employee with a raised brow.

"What was that all about?" Kimikaz asked. Jun could only shrug his shoulders.

"I'm not sure. So what's my task, sir?"

"Your task will have to wait until after I interrogate Chan. Tell me, why is there only the three of Chan's team when you mentioned there being five people?"

"Delya and the Chan's little niece Jade weren't there," Jun explained.

Kimikaz raised his brow hearing Jun's response. He thought, _Usually, it was the five of them so why three all of a sudden?_

The boss leaned over in Jun's ear and whispered his job to him. Jun went from acting normal to confused.

"Why would you want to do that? That destroys the whole purpose of what we're doing!" the boy complained. "C'mon, isn't there something else we can do?"

"It's okay, because it's all going to work out in the end. Now go help the Ice boys do their job. When you're done with that, let me know via MicroTalk so I can assign them on another assignment for tonight."

"And what job does that leave for me?" Jun's blue eyes looked up at his employer in slight disappointment. Kimikaz put a hand to his chin.

"The only thing I can say is to go rest?" the CEO shrugged. "Or if you want, you can lend your aid in Lola's department?" Kimikaz didn't want to admit that he had forgotten about Jun.

"Yes sir," Jun rolled his eyes and strolled into the building. Kimikaz watched as he darted off inside to start on doing some useful with his time.

"Everything is going according to plan Nagi," the businessman playfully tapped his pet's nose. Nagi stuck his tongue out at that moment as if he were trying to lick his master.

"I have a special plan for you."

* * *

"Hey Jackie, when are you coming home? You've been out for half a day and Delya is starting to doze off. Bring home the Red Ruby, wouldja?" Jade's voice bounced off the walls of the small room. To Jackie's far unreachable left, his phone was idly sitting there. Hearing his niece voice made the archaeologist begin to stir in his sleep.

"W-Where am I?" He slowly opened his eyes. He was forced to close them again once he looked up at the bright ceiling lights. "My eyes..."

"He's awake!" a familiar young voice exclaimed. When the archaeologist opened his eyes further, it was none other than Jun Shields staring him straight in the eyes. Jun threw Jackie's phone on the floor, quickly stomping on it.

"That phone has been ringing for the longest," the teen rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Twenty times and counting. Someone must be getting antsy."

"Where am I? How'd I get here?!" Jackie cried. He tried to stand up, only to find that his hands were strapped on a table. His legs were strapped to the chair he was sitting on, meaning it was impossible for him to move. He looked down to see his new phone smashed in many little pieces.

"That's the third phone this month," Jackie complained. When Jackie got out of wherever he was, he need to ask his phone company to give him a new phone. Luckily, his phone company was kind enough to give Jackie a new phone every time an accident happened.

"You're on ZIK territory now," the wizard-in-training responded with a glare, his arms crossed over his chest. The intense silence and the heat of the light was making Jackie begin to sweat.

"You're Jun Shields, correct?" Jackie mumbled. The chi wizard shrugged with a stoic expression.

"What's so important that you get from this syndi—er, company that you have to cause so much trouble? The same goes for your friend, LoAna."

Jun delivered a hard right hook to Jackie's left never expected to get hit in this face but now that he did, he could feel a bruise forming on his side.

"Ouch," Jackie grumbled. He desperately wanted to wipe the blood off his face but knew he couldn't. "Was that really necessary?"

"Don't talk about Lola like that! You and your talk about change aren't going to work! She may be naive and nice but I'm not. Know this; if you and your friends even glance in Lola's direction, I'll make you all wish you'll never look in that way ever again," Jun threatened. The adolescent looked up to find Kimikaz standing behind him with his arms crossed. His expression looked rather worried for his raging employee.

"Oh! I-I-I didn't see you there, sir." the boy saluted as his boss. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."

The philanthropist strolled up to Jun, placing a hand on his shoulder. His body was concealed in the darkness. "You should go and finish your other missions. I'll handle Jackie from here."

The flustered boy blinked, trying to realize what was going on. "Um, yes sir. I'll get right on it," he stuttered. He exchanged another dirty glance at Jackie before storming out of the room. Jun shut the door behind him, leaving the two men inside alone. Kimikaz moved to the seat across from Jackie's seat from the table. He took a minute to adjust his suit and tie.

"Hey, you're the rich philanthropist Kimikaz!" Jackie's eyes widened.

"AHH! A SNAKE!" he tried to pull his hands back, hoping the reptile wouldn't bite him. Kimikaz patted the reptile's head with a devious smirk.

"Don't worry. Nagi's an Eastern Indigo. He can bite, but he's definitely not poisonous," Nagi flicked out his tongue at the archaeologist. Jackie could've sworn it looked like the snake was silently snickering at Jackie's panicking.

"Wow. I never thought I would meet such a nice and successful businessman—with his pet snake—in a situation like this," Jackie blushed. "Can you get me out?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Chan," Kimikaz frowned. "You're my prisoner and I intend to keep it that way."

Jackie's smile turned into a disappointed frown, understanding instantly what his captor meant. "You work for ZIK? Why would you want to work for ZIK? You're a role model—not just to San Francisco, but to the world. That's billions of people," Jackie said. The executive chuckled with a throw back of his head.

"What did I say that was so funny?" the archaeologist deepened his frown. Deep down, Jackie's feelings were hurt seeing such a bright role model on the darkest side.

"You know who I am and I know who you are. That's a good start," Kimikaz replied. Jackie snorted at the response.

"At this point who doesn't?"

"You're an archaeologist who works at the San Francisco Museum. You live in an antique shop with Jiang Chan, Yu Chan and Tohru Yamamoto. Jiang and Yu are your blood relatives, correct?" Jackie kept quiet, his lips were closed tight. Nagi decided wrap himself around his master's neck, intimidating Jackie a little more.

"I also know that you have certain ties with a girl named—wait, what was her name? Mariah, Alicia, Aaliyah—" The CEO trailed off. "I don't exactly remember what was her name was, can you refresh my memory for me?"

"I'm not talking until I get my lawyer," Jackie snarled.

"Mr. Chan I'm aware that you don't have a lawyer, so let's not play that game," Kimikaz grinned from ear to ear. He didn't look it up, he could just tell Jackie was a man who didn't involve himself with the law too often. "Would you talk if I told you that I had Tohru and your uncle in the building right now?"

"And what if you're lying?"

"Chan, I wouldn't lie about the people you care about. I promise you, your uncle and Tohru Kurosai are currently in my possession. All you have to do is tell me the info I want to know and I'll leave you alone. It's that simple," the businessman folded his hands together. His face was painted with a smug smile that said 'I win'.

Jackie had already been through the hostage situation with Uncle and Captain Black, and Drago and his minions were their kidnappers. At the time, that didn't work out too well. This time, Jackie didn't know where Tohru and Uncle were so even if he tried to escape, Jackie would be like a confused mouse running though a big maze. He wasn't about to risk getting his family and friends in trouble time. In the back of Jackie's mind, Kimikaz made his skin crawl. There were many other villains in the past that made Jackie's skin crawl, but Kimikaz was the first to make him truly feel that way.

"Now tell me who's the girl's name again?" Kimikaz pressed on. He knew who he was referring to, but he wanted to see if Jackie would correct him on that.

"I refuse to talk," the researcher gritted his teeth. "I will not put my friends and family in danger."

The ZIK CEO's smile turned upside down into a malicious frown. His brows furrowed and his tightly folded hands loosened. Jackie noted the change in Kimikaz, his forehead was decorated with blue veins. If Jackie wanted to play that way, it was going to be more fun for Kimikaz.

"You know a woman named Delilah, right? The woman who used to live with an elder woman named Evangeline Agyeman? And you do know about your first-cousin-once-removed, Yu Chan. She is quite charming," Jackie exhaled, his eyes stared down at the table at his strapped hands. His hands were started to grow numb from the tightness. Hearing Aunt Eva's full name made Jackie's heart skip a beat and his blood grow ice cold. Kimikaz noticed Jackie's fidgeting and chuckled.

"So you _do _know those women."

Before Jackie could realize it, Kimikaz's hand grasped at his throat, threatening to squeeze the lift out of him. The captor leaned over in his captive's ear with a low whisper.

"What you're doing isn't amusing, Chan. Either you tell me what I want to know or..." the executive pulled off his MicroTalk from his ear to show it off at his enemy. "All I have to do is give the word and your loved ones will be gone just like that," the man snapped to prove his point. Or even worse, I could get some men and use them to find Delilah and Yu and take them down along with you."

"Their names are Jade and Delya and you will not touch my family!" this was the only thing Jackie could retort. An enthusiastic Kimikaz clapped, wearing a genuine smile on his face. "See? How hard was that? It was really, really easy. All you have to do is cooperate. So where were we?"

"You were threatening me and my family?" came Jackie's sarcastic response.

* * *

"I'm finally finished," Lola said half-proudly. After thirty minutes of intense meditating and spell-making, the chi witch was finally able to remove Samuel Long's age-old spell. She shoved the jewel in her jeans pocket and stood up. On the inside, she was still emotionally sore from the laughter she got from Jun. She thought he wouldn't laugh, but she was wrong. She was on the first floor, heading her way towards the training arena.

_I guess that's what I get for trying to talk to a hard-head_, she mentally rolled her eyes. _ZIK Inc is like a zoo nowadays. My two bosses are mental sociopaths, my colleagues are brainwashed idiots with testosterone problems and me, I'm even worse. The only reason why I'm here is to help provide for my family back home. I never thought about how bad the decision would be if I worked at a crime syndicate. I'm just some dummy working for money. Hey, I rhymed there._

Lola took a left, then a right through the hallways. She opened a door into the arena. The ZIK gymnasium smelled oddly of chlorine with a hint of sweet peach. The walls has a nice, tan colored tone. Around the gym laid weights, punching bags, machines, in other words gym equipment. Lola laid her eyes on the big blue mat in the center of the training arena.

_"Don't you want to go home to the Philippines?"_

_"You don't really feel comfortable working at ZIK..."_

_"I used to be like you. I once worked for a crime syndicate..."_

It was mainly those three lines from Tohru that kept running through her head. The sentences did hit Lola the hardest. One moment, it seems like Tohru had nothing in common with the chi witch. Now Tohru claims to have been in her shoes. What's the sudden change of heart for? Now that the Filipina thought about it, maybe she was right. Maybe Tohru was trying to get inside her head. Even so, the young woman felt sorrow for the Japanese man. Yes he was her enemy, but she never expected for Kimikaz to leave them in a cell. She had guessed her boss was going to try and break him and his friends down. Lucky for her, Kimikaz had assigned her to another job.

"Okay, so how does this work?" Lola thought aloud with a scratch of her head. She rubbed her hands along the smooth sides of the Red Ruby and slid it into her jeans pocket.

"You want some help with that?" Lola whipped her head over to her colleague Jun. He was standing by the training arena entrance leaning against the doorway. The Filipina quickly turned away.

"Go away! I don't want you here. Go do your assigned job," Lola dismissed Jun with a wave of her hand.

"Wait, I just want to apologize for what I said earlier."

"Well I don't want your apology," She marched over to where Jun was standing to push him out the gymnasium. "I don't want to see your face right now!"

"But—" Jun tried to argue.

"When I say something important that makes some sense, you laugh at me and call me crazy. Why is it all of a sudden you want to be my friend and do some reconciliation? Do you finally realize that I was right all along?!" Lola screamed.

"Look, I understand you're mad at me but I didn't know what I was saying. I'm sorry. Please forgive me," Jun placed a hand on Lola's shoulder. With the touch of his hand, Lola felt her calm attitude return. The good chi witch was silent, embarrassed by her explosive attitude. She never realized how fierce she could be without her magic. She felt her eyes began to tear up, but she wiped them away quickly before Jun could notice.

"...Jun Shields, I believe you. I truly do. But if you want to talk, please talk to me later when your attitude completely changes," Lola's voice cracked. She closed the door, not bothering to lock it behind her. She knew if Jun was really her friend, he would listen to her demands.

* * *

"Uncle? UNCLE!" came an all-too-familiar voice.

"Yes?" Uncle said with a cracking open his eyes. In front of him was none other than himself. "Uncle?"

"Aiyah! How can you sleep at such a dangerous time as this?! The dark forces are on their way to destroy you and you sleep?!" the consciousness part of Uncle screamed.

"Who?"

"AIYAH! WHO DO YOU THINK?" with that, a hand appeared beside the Uncle head, slapping the head of the real Uncle.

"Ow!" the mental slap on the head made Uncle wake straight up. He took in a sharp deep inhale and looked around himself.

"Where is Uncle?" the elder chi wizard looked around. In front of him, StrikeMaster Ice was sitting and watching Uncle with his arms crossed. By the door, DJ stood guard.

"Sleeping Beauty is finally up," Ice chortled. "How was the sleep, grandpa?"

Uncle scoffed, looking down on himself. His body was strapped down to a table that was set up horizontally. The elder wizard could not move his arms or his legs because when he did, the tightness of the table made his bones hurt. To make it worse, he felt a backache and a headache coming in.

"Uncle is too old to be kidnapped," the old man mumbled. When Drago had kidnapped him he was tied up, then put in a cage. There wasn't too much damage done to Uncle, since he had escaped early.

This must be because of Tân. He knows how much of a trickster Uncle is, Uncle growled. He tried to move from side to side to try and escape.

"You can try an' wiggle yo' way out, gramps. Trust me, it ain't gonna work," Ice quipped. "Me 'n' DJ made sure you can't break free. Yo' li'l toys are gone and so is yo' posse. Game over."

* * *

"Sensei? Sensei!" Tohru cried out. He was tied down to a chair with strong and heavy chains bounded by his side. MC Cobra was ordered by Kimikaz to stat there and to watch him until his boss could get there.

"No one can hear you, tubby. Don't you get tired? You been doin' this for the past fifteen minutes," Cobra complained. The teen was bored out of his mind watching Tohru. His boss had told him that he had another assignment when he would arrive, but this was taking forever.

Tohru ignored Cobra. If the Japanese man was about to die, he didn't want to waste the last days of his life talking to him. "Someone, please! Please help!"

"With that kind of screaming, you'll wake up the dead." Jun arrived in the room with his hands covered over his ears. He sat down in the chair beside Cobra.

"What're you doin' here?" the purple haired teen smirked. "Dontcha got a job to do?"

"Yeah, but I finished part of it early," Jun scratched his hair. "Now I'm just waiting for Kimikaz to check on the other two prisoners so I can get started on the other one."

Cobra looked towards his colleague. "You mean where you and th' three o' us work together to make some kinda ransom note for th' little shrimp and Light-Bulb?"

"You know it," Jun eagerly nodded.


	25. Chapter 25

"Now I'm really getting worried," an anxious Jade stressed. It was now three o'clock and the house was quiet. The movies were away, the TV and the house lights were off, the phone silent. Delya was sound asleep, making the only person awake in the house Jade. She intended to keep it that way, taking a couple of candies to stay awake.

"I gotta keep reading," The Asian asked herself. She wiped her eyes tiredly and yawned. "What? No! Jade Chan has to stay awake!" she shook her head vigorously. In front of her was a thick book that she was trying to read. While looking around Delya's kitchen for more food she found the book up on a high shelf in a cabinet titled, 'Aunti's Cookbook'. When Jade looked inside, it was a spell book.

"Aunt Eva was pretty clever for hiding her spell book and calling it a cookbook. If I wasn't so hungry, I would've never found out about this thing. Maybe I can take it with me to Section 13..." Jade was already on the phone dialing Black's number before she could get her whole thought out. Maybe her family had returned to Section 13 first before coming to pick her up.

"Um, hello?"

"Captain Black, please tell me they got back," Jade's teeth chattered nervously.

"_They_?" Black groggily asked. The phone line got silent, the sounds of slow rocking on a bed. An alert Jade was talking to a tired Augustus Black, so she had to be patient with the adult.

"Jade? Nobody has come back yet," the bald man tiredly rubbed his eyes and took a glance at his clock on his nightstand.

"Jade, it's three o'clock in the morning. How are you still awake? Where's Delya?" the questions drew themselves out due to Black's sluggishness.

"Yeah, it's three o'clock and I haven't heard a single word from Jackie yet. What happened to him? Aren't you even a little worried for Jackie?" Jade asked. Black looked at the door as if he were waiting for Jackie himself to come in to say something. The Section 13 boss looked at the clock again, beginning to feel more alert.

"Oh no. I am supposed to be worried, aren't I?" Black face palmed.

"Considering how good of a bad guy ZIK is, yup," Jade nodded.

"Right," Black rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Look. If we're going to get the Chan Clan back, we're going to need a big plan. A really big plan. I'll let you know more about it when I'm coming to Section 13," Jade hung up before she could listen to her boss' response. She turned her attention back to the spellbook.

"This book has a lot of chapters. Small injuries, serious injuries, tracking spells, exorcism—"

"What're you doing?" Jade turned around to find a surprised Delya staring at her.

"Great, you're awake!"

Delya marched over to her young friend and snatched the book from her sight. "How did you—**Why** are you reading this?!" the demon snapped. "This isn't yours to read!"

"Sorry! I was just looking for something to eat and I found this in the higher parts of the cabinet," Jade held her stomach to prove it.

"What do you mean you're hungry? I gave you a lot of sweets and other kinds of food from my fridge. You should be full of food!"

"Let's just say it makes sense as to why Jackie doesn't let me snack in-between meals," the Asian girl's stomach rumbled once again, this time, a little louder than before. "Besides, I was thinking we could use whatever's in your aunt's book against—"

"**No**!" Delya interjected and closed her eyes. She could feel Jade giving her a confused look.

"I don't want to," the demon lady hugged the book tightly. "Don't you know not to sneak around in people's houses as a guest? This book should only be used for important emergencies," the demon dame pointed to the volume. "And there _is_ no emergency."

"Of course we need it! There is an emergency, duh!" Jade stood in Delya's path. "Jackie, Uncle and Tohru aren't back yet."

Delya looked down. "Jade, get out of my way."

"No!"

"Your uncles are probably at Section 13 taking a rest," the demon shrugged off the scary thought.

"Then how come I just called Captain Black and he said they weren't there?" the teenager crossed her arms over her chest. "Admit it: you're just being selfish."

"I'm not selfish," the demon stood her ground.

"You are, and that's now being fair to me! After many months of trying to convince my family that you're one of the very few good demons out there, you succeed. Now you go and let them suffer at the hands of another villain that we barely know anything about. You know what human people call that kind of attitude: rude. You should have an idea that the Chan Clan is in some serious trouble and you don't care! Don't you remember the last time—"

"I remember the last time," came Delya's response from her gritted teeth.

"If you do, then why can't you use what happened last time to try and stop what's happening now? Remember that talk Jackie gave you about "being the light among the darkness"? Well, all I'm seeing is your candle becoming dim since you want to act like all the other selfish demons out there or stuck in the Demon Netherworld. If you want to do something productive, then you can help me, help me by using some magic to track down my family! I'm not going to sit around and wait for my wonder years to pass by by myself!" came Jade's argument. She didn't care how scary Delya was being; she was standing her ground.

A dark chill ran up Delya's back, inadvertently making her eyes turn red. She clenched her open hand and tightly closed her eyes so Jade wouldn't have to look into it. Delya felt her body heat up as she turned around to face Jade.

"**JADE**!" Delya yelled with a bit of a demonic echo added. Jade was taken aback by the sudden drop her voice but she refused to give up, putting on a determined face.

"De, you're either with me or against me on this. Choose wisely," came Jade's warning. Her voice was at a low volume so she wouldn't offend her friend. Delya looked down at the spellbook and wiped the cover as if it were dirty and kept silent. Jade had both hands out waiting for Delya to give her the book. Slowly and reluctantly, the demon dropped the book onto the kitchen table.

"Yeah, sounds ancient and heavy," Jade wheezed, almost tossed the book back into Delya's hands.

"On second thought, you carry it. Since it's super heavy, it'd be better for a someone strong to carry it," came Jade's order.

"So you want to go to Section 13 to do what now?" Delya asked.

"I'm betting ZIK captured Uncle Jackie and the others and is holding them hostage in exchange for the gemstones, and we can't give them that. That's the last thing we want to do. We're going to Section 13 to whip up a spell to find them and rescue them ourselves because now it's just the three of us: Captain Black, you and me. And we need to do it fast before ZIK sets its sights on us," Jade ordered. Delya dutifully nodded and carefully set the spell book on the table, quickly flipping through the pages to get what she needed.

"The only problem is that I can't be the one who makes the spell; you have to be. This spell is for Aunti, which means it's a good chi magic book. I'm a demon, and those two things don't clash with each other well. I can only give you the ingredients but I can't do the mixings," the demon noted.

Jade sighed and smacked her forehead. "I know that."

"We're gonna need the tails of a rattlesnake, the essence of dark chi magic, black pepper, vegetable oil," as Delya read on the list, she stopped a third of the way. "Yeah, this is way too many things. I'm just going to have to shorten it down."

"Shorten it? But what if the result doesn't end up how we want it?" Jade suggested. It was obvious she knew firsthand about following instructions from the many experiences she had with Uncle.

"Some of this stuff here I'm positive it's not here, and we don't have time to find them all," Delya scratched her head.

"Ugh! We don't have time for messing up!" Jade grabbed her hair. "We gotta do this once and only once!"

"Okay, okay. The quicker way to do a tracking spell is for me I'm going to have to do it the demon way."

"But to make a tracking spell, don't we need something belonging to the person—" she started, but Delya put a finger to her face making her stop.

"Oh, we'll be fine," the demon waved off any thought of worry. She took off her medallion and showed it off to Jade. "This isn't just a piece of pretty jewelry. With this and a pinch of black pepper, I can activate the tracking spell."

Jade went to the nearest cabinet she could find and tossed the vial of pepper in Delya's direction. "You better get started 'cuz time is ticking."

Delya unscrewed the lid and set it to the side. She reached in and grabbed a pinch of pepper before laying down her magic jewelry piece. While she did so, she mumbled what she could remember of the spell in her head and did so until the powder was finished.

"You're rushing the magic..." Jade attempted to warn Delya, but the young woman put up a stern finger to the girl's mouth.

"Shh. I'm the expert here," Delya bragged. Just as she hoped, the tiny gems on the medallion turned dark chi blue and spun rapidly into the air.

"It's working a little too well from what I remember," Delya covered her eyes from the bright light. The medallion quickly disappeared showed a large TV screen with a dark bluish-grey background.

Jade turned a suspicious eye to Delya. "Why do you say that?"

"This isn't how I remember the spell working..." the demon scratched her head. Before long, a mental lightbulb went off in her head, making the woman smack her forehead in disgust and say, "Oh, duh! That's because it's actually—"

Before Delya got to finish her sentence, the screen coming from the medallion instantly become clear. There, Delya and Jade were looking eye to eye with Tân himself.

The demon gasped and pointed to the screen. "It's you!"

Jade followed Delya's lead. "You're that evil wizard guy that used Uncle's brother!"

Tân was busy fixing his traditional turban, so he wasn't so concerned about who was on the other side of the screen for that short moment. Once he saw who exactly it was, he fell back and was ready to scream in shock.

"Y-You!" the man stammered. The dark wizard quickly overcame his shock to stare down at the beings before him. "How did you do that? What do you think you're doing?"

"Delya..." Jade gestured to the disaster in front of her. "See what happens when you're rushing and not careful with what you're doing? Like I said before, you can't rush the magic!"

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. The bigger and better question is what are you doing on my link?" Delya demanded with a thumb pointed at her chest. Tân scoffed.

"I asked you first."

"And I asked you second."

"Pfft! I have no need in explaining myself to a child and a demon who's clueless in spells," Tân snorted. Delya let out a haughty huff from her nose.

"You're lucky we're talking onscreen, otherwise—"

Jade pushed Delya out of Tân's view and sternly pointed to the screen. "Enough games! Where's my family? I know you're hiding them somewhere."

"'Your family'?" the dark wizard chortled with a hand over his mouth. Once he was done with his laughing fit, his mouth turned into a malicious sneer. "You can forget about your precious family. After tonight, those three will be history."

Jade moved toward the screen. "No!"

"And what are you going to do, little girl? There's nothing you can do now," Tân chuckled. He wiped his happy-tear filled eyes and gave the Chinese girl and sneaky glare. "Unless you are willing enough to make a deal."

Jade gulped and pulled at her sweater collar. She had been down this road once and she was on it once again. "A...deal?

"Oh yes. I know you know how this deal is going to go down," the dark wizard laughed. The line went silent, neither Jade nor Delya appearing on the other side of the magic screen.

"Jade, are you absolutely sure about this? Once we make a trip down this road, there's no going back," the demon wanted to reassure her young friend. Jade eagerly nodded.

"While my family is not the average kind of family and they drive me nuts sometimes, I still owe it to them to save them. I'd do anything to make sure my family is safe," came Jade's answer. She came back to the screen, where Tân patiently waited for the girl's response.

"What is your final answer?" an exasperated Tân asked. Jade nodded her head.

"Meet us at the San Francisco Bay Area in an hour. And you ZIK guys better not be hurting my family or else," Jade threatened as she pointed to the screen. Just then, the screen fizzled out and all the dark magic went back into Delya's medallion.

Jade shut the spell book, got off her chair and headed over to find her shoes. "C'mon Delya, we got somewhere to be in an hour."

Delya's eyebrows furrowed with a baffled look. "You act like we're going somewhere with a plan."

"I do have a plan and I'll tell you on the way there, but we're going to need that spellbook," the Asian girl ordered. The demon rolled her eyes and placed her head on the table.

"Man, I just wanted to go back to sleep," she yawned.

"Would you forever sleep in a world of evil or be forever awake in a world of good?" Jade asked. She knew this was the exact phrase that Jackie told her again besides the other one, 'The greatest victory is the battle not fought'.

Delya slowly lifted her head up to give Jade a look of disdain. "You're lucky I put up with you."

* * *

"What did you just do?" a curious Kimikaz asked Tân. Usually, Kimikaz and Tân made an agreement before making an advancement together. Kimikaz wasn't sure if he was supposed to be mad at his business partner or happy that progress was being made to obtain the gemstones that were lost to their enemy.

"I've just scored us one of the biggest deals of a lifetime," the dark wizard happily claimed. "Where are the Chans now?"

"They're in their rooms, still asleep," Kimikaz said.

"In order for this to work, you're going to have to bring them out."

Kimikaz's eyes popped open and he felt his heart skip a couple of beats. "G-Give the Chans up?! You don't know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying, " Tân said as he continued down the ZIK hallway. Kimikaz walked in front of him and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Haven't you heard the worldwide legends about this 'Chan'? He's unstoppable and so is his family. His martial arts is remarkable and is known to defeat the many supernatural beings he's faced. If we let him go, that's like letting a lion out of a zoo to slaughter everyone for the benefit for the lion," the rich executive explained.

Tân also placed his hands on Kimikaz's shoulders, his elder brown eyes looking in his partner's gray eyes. He softly spoke. "Kimikaz, you've started your secret ZIK conquest trying to look for these nine Irish gems quite a while ago. You want to tell me you're willing to give up your hard and dedicated work all because you're afraid of how you kidnapped probably one of the greatest heroes on Earth? And don't say yes because that is the wrong answer."

"And what if Chan is the one who ordered that attack on the ZIK facility a couple of days ago?"

"Kimikaz, listen to what you just said and tell me if that makes any sort of sense whatsoever. The people who attacked ZIK obviously know you and I exist. Uncle, Tohru, and Jackie are our captured enemies who have seen your face as of yesterday. The only enemy that knows of you who's free is Drago, and he hasn't even seen your face. No one else outside knows of your tie-ins to ZIK, so stop acting like a worry wart and pull yourself together."

Kimikaz relaxed his strong grip and sighed. "Alright, alright. You're right."

"Of course I am. But I don't want those Jade and Delya girls to find out that you're working with me, so I want you to stay here. I'll let you know what happens when we get there," Tân continued on his way. "For this trade-off, I'm bringing the Ice boys with me and just them.

Kimikaz would've questioned why his partner wants the three of them but decided not to. There was one question that nagged the back of his head ever since the beginning of their conversation. "But are you actually going to give up the Chans?"

Tân turned around wearing a malicious smirk on his face. "I crossed my fingers when I made that deal."

Kimikaz smirked also and nodded approvingly. "Then bring a couple of soldiers with you to make this easier."

Tân shook his head, dismissing the thought with a wave of his hand. "I don't need them. This is going to be an easy win."

* * *

"Wait, wait. Repeat the plan again," Captain Black cleared his throat.

"We're making gem duplicates," Jade replied. Black took a seat, placing his head over his eyes. Jade, Delya, and Captain Black were the only three people up in the morning in Captain Black's office.

"The plan can't be that bad, Captain. It might take a while to make an exact replica for each, but the plan seems doable."

"No no no. It's not that. I could care less about time," he spoke. The air in the room was increasingly quiet. Aunt Eva's book of spells was sitting on Black's desk . His hands were folded neatly, trying to gather his thoughts.

_Why isn't he saying anything?_ a worried Jade thought. She could already hear the anticipating 'no' come out of Black's mouth sounding just like Jackie.

"Captain Black, if this is about my safety then let me tell you that my safety is the last thing I'm worried about. As long as my family is out from ZIK and alive, I don't care. I just want my family back," the Hongkongese girl felt her voice break. She could feel the all-too-familiar melancholic lump in her throat begin to form and Jade didn't like this.

"I'm not focused on that topic either," he spoke. Black opened his eyes into Delya's, his deep green eyes meeting her purple ones.

"When you, Uncle, Jade and Tohru got the White Diamond, Uncle explained to me how the gemstones work so I wouldn't end up with any kinds of misconception. When they are first discovered the gems are filled with dark chi magic, after the wizard who created the gems. Then Uncle uses a spell that removes the dark chi from it. Won't that mean that only Jade and I can touch the gemstones that we have?" came Black's question. Jade and Delya exchanged glances before both turning back to their boss.

"According to Uncle, no. The good chi removal spell cancels out with the dark chi spell inside the jewel. We're fine Captain Black, just give us a couple of hours to get working," Jade cheered.

"If the two of you need help, I am open to assistance—" Black offered but Delya held up her hand in front of him to stop him.

"We're okay," the boss reassured. "You just focus on transportation big enough for our hostages and backup plans just in case."

With that agreement, the three of them walked out of Black's office with their missions ready to go.

* * *

"Where am I?" Tohru said. His eyes then grew wide with realization as he remembered something vital. "Wait...wasn't I captured by ZIK?!" He didn't understand how his abduction lead him to his homeland. The Japanese giant's heart began to race as he placed a hand on it to calm it down. All the events of yesterday rushed back to Tohru, making his heart pound faster. Before anyone more worries could come to Tohru, he spun around looking at his surroundings. It was a cloudless afternoon. The singing birds created harmony as they sang in peace together. A cool breeze blew through the Japanese man's hair, creating a sense of calmness inside of him. Tohru liked this feeling and it made all sense of anxiety disappear.

"This...This is the house I used to live in back in Japan," Tohru gasped. He was surprised that he was able to remember his family house after many years of being away. Seeing his favorite house made all the memories of his childhood rush back to him, bringing a huge grin to Tohru's face. Nothing too big had changed about the house's appearance, and that was the best thing.

"Hopefully, the inside hasn't changed," the jittery feeling of joy was tingling inside Tohru's blood. He slid the door open, took a grand step inside the house's interior.

"It **is** still the same." Before Tohru could make any more comments on the house, a smell of his homeland's food swamped his nose. The sound of happy chatter and laughing filled the house. It was a common sound and smell Tohru warmly embraced.

"...And then I told him, "Well Mr. Know-It-All, just throw that onion you're holding to ward him off and you'll be fine," a gruff but friendly voice snickered. Following the joke, the laughing between him and another lady bellowed throughout the house.

"I've forgotten how much I love that joke," a woman who sounded like Tohru's mother calmed down. "I've heard it so many times and I still don't get tired of hearing it."

"Who's here?" the Japanese giant bellowed. The laughing stopped and Ms. Yamamoto's head popped out from the kitchen. Seeing her family, she dropped whatever she was cooking and went to greet her son.

"Tohru!" she opened her arms for a hug. When she let go of him, she carefully looked him up and down. "Have you eaten at all lately? You look famished! Mm, I blame Billy Goat and his terrible cooking..." the Japanese mother balled her fists in anger. Since Uncle himself wasn't there to argue with her, the small lady instantly calmed down. "But it's alright. I made breakfast."

"I would like something to eat, thank you," Tohru bowed respectfully to his mother. From there, Ms. Yamamoto lead her son into the large kitchen. Tohru ducked the kitchen door frame and looked up to find a man—who was around the same size as him—contently kneeling on his mat eating his breakfast.

"Um...?" Tohru raised his brow at the sight in front of him. He decided to kneel on the mat in the opposite direction of the house guest, obviously spooked out by the surprise guest.

"Hello, Tohru," the round man bowed to Tohru in respect with a wide smile on his face. To Tohru, it looked like the man was about to explode with pride. "It is a great honor to meet you face-to-face."

"It...is...nice to meet you also, sir," Tohru gulped in suspicion. He began eating his small meal with curiosity written on his face.

"Tohru...there is something important I've been wanting to tell you," Ms. Yamamoto carefully placed her son's miso soup in front of him. She then took her food and sat beside her house guest with a half hearted smile on her face. She warmly placed her hand on the man's knee and turned to her son with a nervous smile on her face.

"Are...are you getting remarried?" Tohru's eyes widened. This was surprising to him because he was sure his mother would never get married again. With tea in hand, Ms. Yamamoto chuckled and set it down. This was one of the very few times he had seen his mother genuinely laugh and it felt weird seeing that.

"Remember all those stories I told you about Oni from your father?" the mother happily sniffed. The Japanese giant nodded his head suspiciously.

"...What do Oni and my father have to do with each other?" Tohru questioned. If his mother was ready to get remarried again, she should just say it.

"This man is Takeshi, Takeshi Yamamoto. He is a samurai of the Yamamoto clan that was eradicated in 1975," Tohru's mother stated. Tohru placed a hand on his chin and was deep in thought.

"1975?" A chill ran up and down Tohru's back. "Three years after Father passed away. I didn't know our clan was still living to this day."

The round woman shook her head with a proud beam. "No. Takeshi Yamamoto is your father," Tohru's mother confessed softly while pointing to her guest.

Tohru exhaled, all the blood rushing from his face. "My f-father?" he hiccuped. He closed his eyes and shook his head violently. "My father was taken by Oni."

Ms. Yamamoto was taken aback by Tohru's claim. She frowned, placing a hand on her chest, saying, "I never said that. Where did you hear that?"

"All those stories about Oni you told me when growing up seemed to make sense when Father's death came into play," a semi-ashamed Tohru stared at the floor. He had expected to be berated by his mother for telling her something that wasn't true.

Mr. Yamamoto decided now it was his turn to speak up. "I just want to apologize to you for not being available as you were growing up, my son. The job of a samurai was a very busy job, especially back then."

"That explains why the spell worked to banish the Oni before," Tohru muttered. He then spoke up. "So you're a samurai who fought Japanese folklore like oni, yurei, tengu. I thought oni and such were just stories to scare disobedient children." He didn't want to let his mother or new-found father know about Tarakudo.

"No, my son. Oni, yurei, tengu. What they have in common is that they are real. You might think the supernatural are fake, but unfortunately they're not. But please, do not be afraid of me. I am a human just like you," Takeshi chuckled at his small joke.

"Would it be acceptable if I asked you what had happened that made you disappear?" Tohru gulped. His stomach trembled. He wanted to hear the reason behind his father's disappearance but was also afraid of hearing the reason altogether.

Tohru's father sighed with his head down. He too feared to have to tell his story. "As you can guess by now, I am a retired samurai. I was part of the Yamamoto Clan. We are a very private clan, so we are not too well-known in Japan. However, we are well-known enough to fight off the magic dark forces of Japan, many of which are Oni. I and the other Yamamoto samurai's were in similar to superheroes like Night Fox.

Tohru inhaled, giving his supposed father a suspicious look. "And how do I know you are not trying to trick me? How do I know if you actually are my father?" Tohru knew it was a little late in their meeting to ask these questions about trust, but the Japanese giant didn't want to be played for a fool.

Mr. Yamamoto placed his hand over his heart. "I would not lie about something as serious as this. That would break the Bushido Code."

I thought all the magic trouble started when Jackie grabbed that shield with the Rooster Talisman from Bavaria, Tohru thought to himself. He was convinced up until now that Jackie was the cause of all the magical troubles in the world, of course by accident.

"One day long ago, I was battling a tengu named Sōjōbō. He's a very powerful demon who happens to be a trickster. While we were battling, I was hit with a banishment spell that would send me to a pocket dimension. I was stuck there for a very long time, forcing me to use my wits and some magic to get out. I had stayed in that dimension for so long, I eventually lost track of time. When I came back, I expected to have been gone for two years. Now I see it's been much longer than that. How I know that is because all the samurai who had fought beside me have either passed on to the next world or have also retired because of my "death"," Mr. Yamamoto finished his story.

"So what brings you to Japan, Tohru?" Tohru's mother eyed the kitchen doorway. "And where is Jackie and his little girl and Billy Goat?"

Suddenly, a painful pulse in the form of a headache placed itself in the middle of Tohru's forehead. For some reason, this headache made him remember his current situation. If he had told his parents about his ZIK situation, Tohru knew his parents would flip their lids. "Jackie wanted to come, but he has business in the university, Uncle is at home and Jade is watching Uncle's shop. It's just me."

As Tohru finished his explanation, the light coming in from the sliding windows to Tohru's right quickly dimmed over, creating darkness throughout the house. Tohru turned to look to see what was going on, only to see outside looking as dark as midnight. He turned again to look at his parents but didn't see them. He was the only person in the room.

"Is there a solar eclipse happening and I didn't know?" he asked his parents. There was no response from them. It was as if he was by himself in his house all along. Suddenly, a feeling of dizziness and sleepiness began to arouse Tohru.

"And what is this sudden wave of sleepiness that I'm feeling? I don't understand," the sumo-like man reluctantly yawned. Without fully knowing it, Tohru laid his head down on the wooden floor.

"Some quick shut-eye should do the job," he was able to convince himself. As the blanket of sleep was about to overcome him, there was a deep voice in the distance.

"Good night, sleep tight," was all the voice said as it manically laughed, its' sounds echoing in Tohru's mind. He wanted to say something about why the voice was saying that but was too tired to say so. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed once again and was greeted with darkness.

* * *

"You've finally awakened," a voice echoed in Jackie's head. He sharply lifted his head up, only to see Kimikaz's eyes staring at him. To Jackie, it felt like the businessman had heat beam eyes boring into his soul.

"Awakened? You mean I was asleep?" Jackie's speech began to slur because of his tiredness.

"Oh yeah. I don't know if it was because of how tired you were or because Jun punching you, but you were knocked out, no pun intended," Kimikaz chuckled. Hearing what Jun had done to him the day before made the events of yesterday rush back to Jackie so fast, a quick headache hit him overcame his brain.

"So yesterday wasn't just some nightmare," the archaeologist moaned, setting his head down on the table. He looked down at his stomach, hearing it growl like a lion. He was beyond starving. Suddenly, a thought raced through his brain.

"Where's Uncle and Tohru? What did you do with them?" he almost jumped out of his chair.

"Calm down, calm down. I didn't touch them. I just kidnapped you, remember?" Kimikaz proudly chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Jackie deadpanned.

"It's funny how most of the people I know that have met you talk about you as if you're some sort of martial arts god. Whenever they're doing wrong and you happen to be there to witness it, you and your family stop the bad guy and have him put in jail. You always win. Now I have captured you and your family's not here to save you at all. In this case, I win," the man laughed. At first, the ZIK executive was worried about all the things Jackie could've down to him, but now he was feeling a lot better seeing him tied down.

"Hardee har har," came Jackie's reply. He didn't believe Kimikaz's story at all. "Who told you I was practically invincible?"

"When you have numerous connections around the world, you hear many rumors. The thing is, I have to decide if they're true or not."

"Well, you've proved your point there," Jackie glared at his captor. "You win."

"You are hungry, yes?" Kimikaz lightly tapped his foot. In his hands was a full tray of breakfast, hot and ready to be eaten. Jackie's blurred vision turned clear at the sight of all the delicious food sitting on the table. His nose recognized the breakfast before his eyes, making his stomach rumble louder. However, Jackie had a bad feeling about the food. He quickly shut his eyes and turned away as much as he physically could.

"I am not hungry," the Chinese man mumbled. The executive cocked an eyebrow at Jackie's response.

"Please, eat," Kimikaz set the food tray down in front of Jackie. "You need to replenish your strength."

"I _said_ I am not hungry." Jackie leaned back farther in his chair.

Kimikaz sighed and sat down. "C'mon Chan. Don't pretend you're not hungry. Here," the man scooped up spoonfuls of different foods and ate them. He pointed to the food being chewed in his mouth and nodded eagerly. "I am eating this food and you don't see any sign of sickness in me. That proves the food is not poisoned. I wouldn't stoop that low." Kimikaz set down the spoon beside the bowl of cereal and used the handkerchief to dab at the corners of his mouth. "If I wanted to truly do harm to you, you'd most likely be dead by now."

"Is this what you did to all the other people who stood up to you?" the researcher hissed. He wasn't afraid of Kimikaz...er...trying not to be. The look from Kimikaz's gray eyes chilled Jackie. What Jackie said hit a nerve for Kimikaz and it was clear he did. The retort made Kimikaz immediately swallow his food, almost choking on it. He took a sip of the cold orange juice.

"I guess this means we should get down to business, shall we? I mean it's 3:15 in the morning so why not?"

The Asian archaeologist carefully eyed Kimikaz. He didn't like where Kimikaz was going. "What are you trying to say?"

Kimikaz inhaled then exhaled softly. "You want to make it out of this horrible experience alive, right?"

Jackie slowly nodded his head.

"Then I want you and your meddling family to stay out of my way **permanently**. Before that, if I decide to set you and your friends free I want you to tell your little team of heroes that they need to quit their gemstone journey. It's going to start when Tân gets your friends Delya and Jade to hand over the jewels they have retrieved. Is that a fair deal Chan?" the executive asked. Jackie became silent as he thought about his answer. He then scoffed.

"I refuse to give in that easily, Kimikaz. I know you have bad intentions for those gemstones. To be fair, they do not belong to anyone," came the archaeologist's response. "The only place the jewels belong in is a museum."

Kimikaz frowned. "Then why are they in your possession?"

"To keep them from you!"

"So you're saying I'm the villain?"

"You **are** the villain," Jackie confirmed with a righteous nod.

"The roles of who's supposed to be the hero and the villain can be seen through anyone's eyes, so how do we know who's right? How do you know I'm the villain and you're the hero? What if I'm actually the hero and I'm just trying to stop you?" the CEO raised his eyebrow to Jackie's accusation.

"If I'm the villain, then why am I the one tied up in this chair?" came Jackie's point. He rolled his eyes as he said," And why are you talking about heroes and villains in a philosophical manner? There's no need for philosophy to back up the reason why I'm stopping you."

"Because I'm stopping you from getting the jewels you want oh-so-badly," the ZIK executive proved. "And I'm not just talking philosophy Chan. I'm showing you why seeing things from your one-sided view is bad."

"You're doing the same thing I'm doing, which is trying to get those gemstones out of the other's hands. I don't have time for thinking if it will hurt my enemies' feelings," Jackie clenched his teeth.

"And how would you know what my purpose for the gemstones would be?" Kimikaz reclined in his chair and neatly folded his hands in front of him. "I'm a philanthropist who's working to make the world a better place. I've helped millions and millions of people on Earth who are struggling. If I get the nine gems, I could help millions more people get on their feet for a better living. You're just an archaeologist who donates to museums and plays the adventurer-archaeologist game."

"So you're saying because your job makes you more fame, it makes you a better person?" Jackie scoffed. He was hoping Kimikaz wasn't going to say yes.

"I'm not saying your job is less important than mine. What I'm saying is what I do reaches others way more than yours does," the ZIK executive concluded. "It's for everyone's benefit."

"But you won't use the nine gems for the world's benefit," Jackie argued.

"And what do you know? I'm on television constantly somewhere across the world building homes and feeding the starving. I know you've seen me on TV plenty of times."

"Well, then..." the Chinese man trailed off, his thoughts turning blank. He wasn't sure what to add. He curled his hands into a fist trying to collect his thoughts.

"And that marks anther win for me. Kimikaz 2, Chan 0," the businessman boasted with a smile readjusted his collar.

"...If you truly, _truly_ were the good guy, instead of kidnapping me and my family,—some of who are unconscious—bringing us to an unknown place, and tying us up as if we are in trouble, you would be willing to help people like me. If there was any bad guy out there willing to hurt me or my family, all you have to do is get your "connections" to stop him. If there was anyone willing to try and harm you, in return I could protect you. Threatening friends of mine to get what you want is selfish, and I know you know you of all people should realize that. I may not have an important job like yours, but at least I am honest with what I do," Jackie said. He knew the words he was prepared to say were going to be some harsh words, but at this point, he couldn't be pulling any more punches. "You, on the other hand, are walking around in public with a fake smile on your face shaking hands and kissing babies, but once all the cameras shut off for the day you're like the mafia with your own property, soldiers, all the goods stashed away. If people found out who you really are, your high and mighty status would be ripped away so fast and you would be seen as something worse than a criminal."

Jackie felt as if he couldn't breathe as he remained, idly waiting for what Kimikaz's next step. A blue vein seemed to pop from the businessman's forehead, but he had no readable expression on his face. The archaeologist braced himself for the suspecting horrors he knew were about to come. The silence in the room was deafening. Any small thing could break the men's concentration.

"So you were able to prove your point. Bravo, Chan," Kimikaz's mocking clapp startled Jackie. He abruptly leaned forward to grab Jackie's collar and bring it up to his face. "By refusing my offer to stay out of my way, you've just started a full out war between me and your family. Normally, people who interfere with my work and swiftly dealt with, but you? You are becoming a pain in my side and this is the first time we have met," the businessman sharply inhaled. He dropped Jackie's collar, letting the Chinese man drop in his chair. Kimikaz stood up and brushed himself off.

"You have anytime you want to forfeit the upcoming war and to continue stopping common street crimes, Mr. Chan. But every time you get in my way, then expect to constantly get mowed over because that is what's about to happen. You may not consider yourself a hero, but you're going to perish like one. Remember that," Kimikaz announced.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jackie narrowed his eyes at the philanthropist. He only pointed behind him and when Jackie turned around to look, a heavy blanket of darkness knocked him out.

* * *

"That will be..." Uncle adjusted his glasses to read the price tag in front of him. Sitting in front of the elder was a pretty white and wide Chinese vase. It was one of Uncle's personal favorites and he was a bit saddened to give the vase away, but he had to do what was good for business.

"This is 55 bucks."

"55?" the shocked customer looked down at the antique.

"This vase comes from the Qing Dynasty, which Uncle would estimate to be created around the mid to late 17th century. Priceless if you ask Uncle," the elder put on a cooperative smile.

The customer smiled and nodded. She took her wallet from her back pocket and took out three 20 dollar bills. "Keep the change." She happily took the Chinese vase in her hand and turned to leave. Around her, Tohru was dusting shelves, Jackie was sweeping floors and Jade was standing by the door waving the customer goodbye.

"Bye! Come back soon!" the girl called. She went outside to flip the sign to say 'Closed'.

"Today has been a very busy day in Uncle's shop. One of the busiest of the month," Uncle smiled as he looked at his nearly full cashier full of money.

"Yes it has Uncle. Just another day at Uncle's Antiques," Jackie smiled at his elder relative as he continued to sweep.

"Uncle thinks we should celebrate our hard work by drinking celebratory tea for everyone," the elder suggested. Jade licked her lips.

"I'm up for tea!"

"Yes, tea would sound good about now. I _am_ quite thirsty," Tohru thundered. Jackie nodded and went into the kitchen to brew some tea.

Uncle sat at the register, humming an old Chinese tune as he counted the money collected. Suddenly, there was a light knocking at the door. Uncle set down the money and adjusted his glasses to see who it could be.

"Can the person not see that we are closed?" came his thought aloud. The knocking came again, only a little louder than before. The chi wizard took this as his chance to get up and answer. Maybe it was a customer who wanted to buy something from Uncle's shop before it closed and they were too late.

As he opened the door, he exclaimed," We're closed!" without even looking at the customer. He opened his eyes to see a weary and sweaty man before him holding a black gemstone with both hands, careful not to break it.

"Is this Uncle's Rare Finds?" the man panted. Uncle carefully looked the stranger up and down cautiously. The man wore a ripped suit, his button-up looking like they were blinds. He had one shoe on and what seemed like half of a sock. His hair was a mess with sods of grass lodged in it. His face and his hands contained soot and pieces of his clothes were burnt off. All in all, this man looked like he needs some hospitality.

"...Yes. Who wants to know?"

"I have come...from a long way...to bring you this," the man held a perfectly cut yellow gemstone in his damaged hands. The Chinese elder reluctantly took the priceless jewel with a puzzled look.

"I have seen this somewhere before," Uncle mumbled. Trying to think, Uncle found that his memory was muddled and blank. He stepped to the side, making way for the man.

"Would you like to come inside? We have tea brewing on the stove," came Uncle's offer. The man who was doubling over trying to catch his breath nodded.

"That...would sound great," he panted as he stumbled inside and took the nearest seat he could find.

"Who is that, Uncle Jiang?" Jade pointed to the tired man before her. Tohru peered in from the next room to find out what all the commotion was about.

"What is your name, young man?" Uncle asked.

The stranger's tongue moved around his mouth as if he ate a worm. "I need a drink of water?"

"I hardly believe that's your name..." Jade mumbled as she went into the kitchen. Uncle paid most of his attention to the detailed teapot in front of him. He opened it and peered inside, finding nothing.

Uncle Jiang has definitely seen this before, but where? the elder man thought to himself. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Here's some water Mr. Ineedadrinkofwater," Jade joked. The man grabbed in from the girl's grasp and gulped the water in a matter of seconds.

"Wow, you must be extra thirsty," the girl commented. "I've never tried finished a glass of water that much in four seconds. I've tried and believe me, I haven't even come close to that record."

The man snorted. "You'd be able to finish a glass of water that quick too if you're desperately busy trying to survive."

Tohru poked his head out from the library, apparently done with dusting. "Trying to survive? From what?"

"More like from who," the man said. "By the way, my name's Nic."

"What happened to you, Nic, that has brought you to be like this?" Uncle again couldn't help but give the stranger a good look up and down at his physique.

"Like I said, I've come pretty far to run all the way here."

"How far are we talking?" Jade crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm talking all the way from the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge far," Nic said. He pointed to the shining yellow jewel. "All because of that thing."

All of a sudden, a ping of pain rang out in Uncle's head, starting out from the middle of his forehead to out of his ears. He placed a hand over his head, trying his best not to feel dizzy.

"Uncle, are you alright?" Jade asked with a worry. Uncle brushed past his headache, staring intensely at the jewel.

"Tea is ready!" a cheery Jackie stepped into the room. Once he locked eyes with Nic, his smile turned into a flat line.

"Am I missing something?" the confused archaeologist asked.

The short headache Uncle felt was an instant reminder of the trouble he forgot that he was in. A brief flash of the book he read about the history of Samuel Akin's gems flashed in his mind as he struggled to speak.

"My name is Nic. Sorry for bothering you all during closing time," the man bowed to show how serious his apology was and shook Jackie's hand.

"My name is Jackie."

"Nic, who were you being chased by?" Tohru asked to get the tired stranger back on track of his story.

"Oh, right! There was this...this shadow beast thing. It was able to lie low in the shadows but once out, it was this huge figure, like a giant with glowing red eyes, no nose, and no mouth. It's set me on fire, put me through the dirt, had me falling a couple of times. Way too much to go through in one day."

The Chan Clan exchanged worried glances at each other with the same thought in mind.

_It couldn't be Oni, could it?_

"The problem is I don't know where it came from or how to stop it," Nic groaned, placing both hands. "For all I know, this shadow will be the death of me."

"The bigger problem is how did you get the Yellow Beryl without the locator spell? Even so, how did you manage to get the gem without being evil?" Uncle squinted at the stranger suspiciously. Now that he remembers everything, something about this man didn't add up.

"Uncle, what are you talking about?" Jade raised his brow at Uncle's attitude. She turned to Nic to find his head down, dirty black hair hiding his face.

"I..." the strange man was at a loss for words. The longer the silence continued to linger, the more the tension grew in the room. Nic looked up, his gray eyes looking straight at Uncle. Uncle took a worried step back with his hand in his pocket ready to take out his salamander. The Chinese elder felt as if Nic's eyes pierced through his soul.

"What are you doing?" an anxious Jackie asked as he moved towards Uncle. Tohru followed suite, setting down his duster on the table.

"Let's not get crazy, sensei..." Tohru became antsy.

Before Uncle had a chance to explain himself, he turned around to witness the sun setting and turning itself into a dark night. When he turned back, everyone in the shop disappeared.

Uncle began to shiver as he felt a sharp gust of wind hit his back. He reached back into his pocket to find that his salamander weapon gone.

"What is going on?" Uncle muttered. The sharp wind blowing on his back flew in front of him to form a ghostly being.

"Is that...Chi Master Fong?" Uncle blinked in disbelief at what he was seeing. He immediately gave a respective bow to his teacher. "Fong Sifu, what are you doing here?" The ghost of Master Fong put his hands together in a praying motion and bowed to his former student. When he opened his mouth to speak, a fog of dark chi quickly flowed from his mouth like a waterfall.

"Fong S-sifu..." Uncle stuttered. The dangerous fog raveled itself around Uncle's neck and waist and dragged him towards to his ghost teacher. The fog was so heavy that Uncle Jiang found it was almost impossible for him to get up from his chest. He looked up at his teacher, who glowered at him.

"What—what have I done wrong, sifu?" Uncle whimpered. He found his breathing was becoming limited with each inhale.

"You've done nothing wrong, my pupil. I'm just going to put you so deep into Dreamland, I'll make sure you never wake up," Chi Master Fong said in Tân's voice with a cackle. The poisonous dark chi took so much of Uncle's energy he was unable to recognize who's voice was coming out of his teacher's mouth. With the weight of the dark chi fog on Uncle's back, he closed his eyes only once, letting his world turn dark.


End file.
